Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Fernando Alonso, Mercedes Pace, More
Fernando Alonso spent Sunday night in hospital after sustaining a concussion in a crash during the final day of the second Formula One pre-season test.
His McLaren left the track at the exit of Turn 3 and hit a wall. Alonso was taken to the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona's medical centre before being flown to hospital by helicopter. He remained there overnight as a precaution.
Details of exactly what caused the crash have not yet been revealed.
Mercedes' Nico Rosberg also left the track on the final day. The German got beached in the gravel at Turn 5 just 25 minutes into the session, but both car and driver were unhurt, and after the W06 was returned to the pits, he was able to complete 131 laps.
The fastest of these was set on the medium-compound tyres—one minute, 24.321 seconds. Only Romain Grosjean's supersoft-shod Lotus went quicker, but Rosberg did not think his lap was anything special.
Elsewhere, Force India are not guaranteeing their 2015 car will be ready for the final test, Sebastian Vettel is refusing to get carried away by Ferrari's promising form and Franz Tost feels that testing at the relatively cool Catalunya circuit prevented teams getting useful data on the tyres.
Read on for a full roundup of the top stories coming out of the second test.
Fernando Alonso Spends Night in Hospital After Concussion from Crash
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Fernando Alonso spent Sunday night in hospital after sustaining a concussion in a mysterious crash on the final day of testing.
The Spaniard left the track at the exit of Turn 3 and hit the wall on the inside. The track remained closed as he was taken to the medical centre before being airlifted to hospital. Sky Sports F1's tweet showed a photograph taken during the accident.
"Fernando Alonso to stay in hospital overnight for observation after crash during #F1Testing: http://t.co/H4QGGeZRb1 pic.twitter.com/MlLfb4MI1N
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 22, 2015"
It is not yet known what caused Alonso to leave the track. Despite what must have been a significant impact, the car did not look badly damaged. A statement on McLaren's website by the team's racing director, Eric Boullier, confirmed as much:
"Fernando’s accident was just one of those things that happens in testing. Fortunately, he’s fine but was concussed during the accident, which therefore required an overnight stay in hospital as a precaution. That’s normal practice after a concussion. Inevitably, some media reports have sought to exaggerate the severity of the incident—it was just a normal testing accident.
While the car wasn’t particularly badly damaged, it was enough of an impact to warrant quite a lengthy check of the gearbox and power unit systems. Given the time needed to carry out such an analysis, we decided to bring the curtain down on our test a few hours earlier than anticipated.
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Sebastian Vettel was travelling behind Alonso and witnessed the crash. He later told the press (h/t BBC Sport): "The speed was slow—maybe 150 kilometres per hour. Then he turned right into the wall. It looked strange."
Normal racing speed at that part of the circuit would be closer to 250 kilometres an hour, but we just don't know enough details about the crash and speculating on the cause at this stage would be pointless.
More details should emerge soon, but the main thing is that Alonso appears to be OK. For that, we can all be thankful.
Toro Rosso's Franz Tost Wants Return Warm-Weather Testing
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Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost is pleased with the progress his two young drivers have made, but he remains unhappy that teams are forced to test in Europe during the winter rather than head for warmer climes.
He feels the low ambient and track temperatures in Jerez and Barcelona make it difficult to acquire useful data for the season ahead. In his team's Day 4 report on the Toro Rosso website, Tost said:
"Both drivers have once again demonstrated that they are quick learners, showing consistency and maturity. Max has covered a total distance of 1,794 kilometres and Carlos 1,684 kilometres, which is what we were looking to achieve.
Nevertheless, I have to say it's really difficult to estimate our own performance or the other teams', as track and ambient temperatures are far too low. At the races where we expect much higher ones, the tyre management will be completely different.
Personally, I don't like the tests in February here in Europe, as you don't get the feedback on all the technical topics you need to be well prepared for the start of the season. Last year's test in Bahrain was much more useful.
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The World Meteorological Organization lists average daily temperatures for Barcelona at this time of the year at around 15 degrees Celcius during the day, falling to five degrees at night.
This is significantly cooler than the conditions teams will typically face at any race weekend during the year, so Tost has a point about the usefulness being diminished.
But the decision to restrict testing to Europe was made for cost reasons—something Toro Rosso, as part of the Red Bull family, perhaps don't have to worry about as much as smaller teams.
Bahrain's average daytime temperature in February is a more pleasant and race-typical 21 degrees Celcius, but the Gulf kingdom is over 3,000 miles away from where most of the teams are based.
In the transport world, distance is money. Being so far from home is also a huge inconvenience if a team needs to fly parts out from the factory.
It's probably worth losing a bit of tyre data in order to test at a cheaper, closer, more convenient venue.
Nico Rosberg Unimpressed by Impressive Lap Time
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Nico Rosberg set the standout time of the test, lapping the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona on medium tyres in one minute, 24.321 seconds.
Only Lotus' Romain Grosjean, using the supersoft tyres, went quicker—but Rosberg didn't appear overly enthused by his pace.
Told his time was impressive, given the compound he was using, Rosberg replied, reported by Autosport: "If you say so! Not according to our numbers. Not so much when looking at times from other days. But we are getting there. Yes we are confident and we think we have a good car."
Take that, everyone else.
Rosberg was among a number of drivers caught out by the cold track, spinning off at Turn 5 just 25 minutes into the day.
"Cold track, cold tyres and an early taste of gravel for Nico Rosberg #F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/O5inKPKe2T
— Crash.net F1 (@crash_F1) February 22, 2015"
Fortunately, for him and the team, he went off at a corner with a sufficient run-off. The car was returned to the pits and Rosberg went on to complete 131 laps—more than anyone.
Mercedes may have already looked quick, but unfortunately for the other teams, Rosberg's dismissal of his time was almost certainly genuine. It's unlikely we've seen anything like their true pace just yet.
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Sebastian Vettel Not Getting Ahead of Himself as Ferrari Form Remains Good
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Sebastian Vettel is refusing to get carried away despite another strong test for Ferrari.
The four-time world champion and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen clocked up 343 laps between them. Unlike at the opening test, they didn't demonstrate a huge pace advantage over the field, but their lap times looked good throughout.
Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz feels the Scuderia are ahead of Red Bull at this stage.
Despite this, Vettel remains cautious, telling press at the circuit, per Autosport:
"The most important thing is the car continues to run without big problems. There are little bits here and there that we need to work on.
You have to keep the feet on the ground and remember there are a lot of things that have changed. The basis looks good to build on. Obviously I was not here last year, so could not judge last year's car.
But people like myself and Kimi [Raikkonen] are happy with initial car behaviour. There is still a long way to go and Mercedes are the ones to beat. Those are the facts, I would say.
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Ferrari were in disarray toward the end of last season once it emerged Vettel would be driving for them in 2015, but the huge reorganisation appears to be bearing fruit.
The car looks far better than its predecessor, and though it's difficult to see them catching Mercedes, the two-win target set in December by new team principal Maurizio Arrivabene no longer looks out of reach.
Force India May Have 2015 Car Ready for Final Test
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Force India are still hoping to run their 2015 car for the first time at the third test.
The team missed the opening test entirely and used their 2014 VJM07 in the second test. Race drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez shared driving duty with Mercedes-backed youngster Pascal Wehrlein.
They focused on learning more about the 2015 tyres but desperately need to get some miles on their new car before the start of the season proper. The final opportunity they will have to do this is at the third test, which starts on 26 February.
Crash.net reports that the team are hoping the VJM08 will be ready for the start of the third test on 26 February, but a spokesman revealed that the car's debut is by no means guaranteed.
Force India have been plagued by rumours of financial difficulties for some time. In early February, they were forced to deny reports in Auto Motor und Sport (h/t grandprix.com) that their delay in getting the new car ready was down to unpaid suppliers withholding parts.
Per RichlandF1, it was rumoured that the team brought Wehrlein on board to partially settle debts owed to engine supplier Mercedes. Though that has been denied, it's difficult to see any other reason Force India would give away track time to this specific driver.
Either way, we'll hopefully get to see the new car in action before the third test ends. If we don't, the team will have to race in Australia with an untested car—a less than ideal start to their first season as a Strategy Group member.
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