Tag Archives: McLaren

Fernando Alonso had a solid first day back in the McLaren Honda today in Malaysia as he logged 45 relatively troublefree laps.

He finished FP2 in 16th, a place ahead team mate Jenson Button, and the only drivers who were slower than the McLaren duo were Romain Grosjean, who did very few laps before he was sidelined by a technical issue, and the two Manor drivers. Nevertheless Alonso is pleased with progress.

“It felt great today in the car,” he said. “Finally after the gym, after the simulator, whatever you do it is never the same as the car, so I enjoyed so much driving here. The conditions obviously are extreme, very hot, and physically it is very demanding. I am not 100 per cent physically and fit after two weeks on the sofa, and two weeks of not in the car.

“It was really the second day of testing for me because I have one good day in Barcelona with 63 laps. and today 45. The rest of the days were seven laps, nine, eleven, so today I really enjoyed it. Definitely a step forward, a big step forward for us.

“It’s much better. The experience that we had in winter was a lot of problems, after four or five laps we stopped and we had to change something, but today we ran 45 laps with zero problems, everything went as we predict. We will see tomorrow in qualifying. We were I think 4.6s behind pole position in Australia, here could maybe be 3-3.5secs, so that is a 1 or 1.5s gain in two weeks, so it’s a big step forward.

Regarding the latest updates he said: “I think there are a lot of things going on in the car now. There are big steps on aerodynamics, a lot of understanding of the power unit, interaction between everything in the car. Every lap is a learning curve for us. In terms of driving, I felt great. The car is very consistent, the car is easy to drive, and it gives you confidence to push to the limit.

“We had some issues today on braking, with front and rear locking that was a little bit inconsistent, and we are looking at this. Hopefully tomorrow we can push more.”

Fernando Alonso remains in hospital in Barcelona as he recuperates from his accident on Sunday.

McLaren insists that the former World Champion is “making a solid recovery” and “is chatting to family, friends and hospital staff,” and that his extended stay is routine.

Meanwhile the team says that there was no failure on the car and addressed internet gossip that suggested that Alonso had lost consciousness before he crashed.

A statement said: “From the scene of the incident he was driven to the circuit’s medical centre, where he was given first aid and, as per normal procedures, was sedated in preparation for an air-lift to hospital.

“In hospital a thorough and complete analysis of his condition was performed, involving CT scans and MRI scans, all of which were completely normal.

“In order to provide the privacy and tranquillity required to facilitate a peaceful recuperation, he is being kept in hospital for further observation, and to recover from the effects of the medication that successfully managed his routine sedation yesterday.”

The team hinted that he might not drive in the second Barcelona test: “We intend to give him every opportunity to make a rapid and complete recovery, and will evaluate in due course whether or not he will participate in the next Barcelona test.”

Regarding the cause of the accident, McLaren added: “Over the past 24 hours, we have been carrying out a detailed analysis of the damage to Fernando’s car, and its associated telemetry data, in order fully to understand the cause, or causes, of his accident. Even at this early stage, we have been able to reach some firm conclusions.

“His car ran wide at the entry to Turn Three – which is a fast uphill right-hander – allowing it to run onto the Astroturf that lines the outside of the track. A consequent loss of traction caused a degree of instability, spitting it back towards the inside of the circuit, where it regained traction and struck the wall side-on.

“Our findings indicate that the accident was caused by the unpredictably gusty winds at that part of the circuit at that time, and which had affected other drivers similarly (eg, Carlos Sainz Jnr).

“We can categorically state that there is no evidence that indicates that Fernando’s car suffered mechanical failure of any kind. We can also confirm that absolutely no loss of aerodynamic pressure was recorded, which fact indicates that the car did not suffer any aerodynamic loss, despite the fact that it was subjected to a significant level of g-force. Finally, we can also disclose that no electrical discharge or irregularity of any kind occurred in the car’s ERS system, either before, during or after the incident.

“That last point refutes the erroneous rumours that have spread recently to the effect that Fernando was rendered unconscious by an electrical fault. That is simply not true. Our data clearly shows that he was downshifting while applying full brake pressure right up to the moment of the first impact – something that clearly would not have been possible had he been unconscious at the time.”

Pictures showed that Alonso sideswiped the wall, and that the wheels remained on the car.

“Our data also confirms that Fernando’s car struck the inside concrete wall, first with its front-right wheel and then with its rear-right. It was a significant lateral impact, resulting in damage to the front upright and axle.

“After the initial impact, the car slid down the wall for about 15 seconds before coming to a halt. All four wheels remained attached to the car, but no damage was sustained by the bodywork or crash structure between the front and rear wheels.”

Fernando Alonso says that McLaren is a very different team from the one that he left at the end of 2007 season.

The Spaniard stressed that there have been a lot of personnel changes, such as the arrival of Eric Boullier from Lotus and aerodynamicist Peter Prodromou from RBR.

“I think it’s different, it’s more open now,” he said when asked by this writer. “I’m different as well, I was 25 years old when I joined McLaren the first time, so definitely I’m different. We are now at the perfect time to rejoin, because we share some goals, and the team I think is now, with the arrival of Eric as well, much more open, and let’s say international.

“There are people working from many teams that joined McLaren this year, so the mentality is very open. The design of the car is quite different compared to the last couple of years, with the arrival of Peter as well. Honda, after 22 years coming back, so the whole team is believing in the project, and very excited to do well. The commitment is maximum from everyone, so that’s fantastic.”

Alonso also emphasised his belief in the potential of Honda.

“Definitely, I see a lot of potential. I’m delighted to work with the Honda guys, I saw from the first day they are about motor racing in general, it’s not just the F1 project. It’s just about the way they live, and the way they think.

“It’s just the culture. I’m a big fan of Japanese culture and they carry on that experience in life, and also for their work. They have a motor racing passion. I know that sooner or later we will deliver what we want to do. With Honda I really feel that if they want to do something, they will achieve it.”