November 7, 2013

Did Alonso really sustain a 28G hit at Yas Marina?

It was one of the key episodes of the Abu Dhabi GP, Fernando Alonso's Ferrari had to take to the curbs to avoid contact with Jean Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso as he tried to beat Massa back onto the track after a pit stop.

Luis Garcia Abad/Twitter
It looked like a pretty rough ride but Alonso went on to finish the race setting fastest laps in the process and avoiding a penalty after Vergne admitted he had not seen him ad had not given him room.  After the race Fernando was giving interviews and seemed fine which explains the surprise then pictures popped up of him being taken to a  hospital strapped to a gurney like a salame.

What happened?  F1 regulations state that a driver must be checked out at a hospital is a g-force sensor alarm, installed in every chassis is triggered.   The sensor is there to alert medical personnel of the severity of an accident and is triggered at 18G.   Well placed journalists like the BBC's Andrew Benson reported the sensor had measured a whopping 28G.

28 G is a heck of a hit,  for reference what happens when when a pickup truck slams into a solid wall at 30 mph.  The Ferrari tub and Alonso's butt are very strong but perhaps the real figure was much lower as suggested by Autosprint who say the sensor came loose and registered a much higher energy spike.    

Ferrari has had no comment either way.


  1. yes, i heard its standard procedure to be strapped like that for a scan, i think hes just having fun with it.

  2. He's fine... he took the hit with his huge steel balls.

  3. LOL, that's probably why the car bounced so high

  4. This footage seems similar to Alonso at Spa, where the Ferrari got a little woozy as it crested over Eau Rouge and Alonso saved it. Alonso's commitment to getting the maximum the car will allow is undeniable. The Spaniard ain't no slacker. The team dynamic next year at Ferrari is gonna be the best since Prost Senna. I love those over the shoulder camera shots during the race. Up through the gears the drivers helmets rise, then down thru the gears the drivers helmets go down.

  5. I've seen worse "accidents" with less of a fuss, but maybe because the car didn't go very high is exactly why the aerodynamics were able to push it back down with that force. I don't know. I'm just talking crap.

    He did say a couple of days ago that he had back pain and nausea that wouldn't let off:

    So he stayed home to bake cookies with Dasha haha.

  6. So tobias gruner had to waste a lot of time to prove that the impact was equivalent to 15g and not wonder he couldn't get a better job. Was this really needed, tobias? You have fallen very low in my estimation. Keep rag picking, mate. Your parent newspaper too seems to have degenerated into a rag that is only fit for manuring one's garden with.


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