One of F1’s Great Mysteries: What really happened?

Fernando Alonso has had a storming start to the 2023 season, silencing all those who doubted him and his age as a driver and champion. Therefore, I thought I’d take a look back to a time in which Fernando’s career decisions proved not so fruitful - 2015.

Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso had a pretty rough 2015 season at McLaren; what made it even stranger was his still unexplained crash during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Since 2001, the talented Spaniard has been through all the possible trials and tribulations that an F1 driver can experience, from having a hard-fought-for title clinched by a rival at the last moment, fighting your way back through the field after a major setback early on, tussling for an illustrious home-GP win, the list goes on. The Fernando we (mostly) all know and love is currently the most experienced driver on the grid.

All the above would then lead you to question: How could a driver of Alonso’s calibre fall victim to such a seemingly rookie-like crash? Let’s investigate:

Context

After Alonso’s departure from Ferrari in 2014, McLaren expressed their desire to take him on as a driver for the 2015 season - with a 3 year contract ending in 2017.

In retrospect, perhaps Fernando should’ve read the smallprint that signalled the lack of an opt-out clause!

McLaren’s hopes were high for Fernando to perform well for the historically successful team as they entered the 2015 season - after all, Ron Dennis’ reasoning behind re-signing the Spaniard was that he was “one of, if not the best drivers” the sport had ever seen, despite their wobbly relationship.

Above: The McLaren MP4-30, which was famously said by Alonso to be powered by a “GP2 engine”.

The Crash

Three days into Winter testing at Catalunya, Alonso was negotiating the flat-out right-hander that is Turn 3, when suddenly he seemingly veered all the way to the right and slammed into the concrete wall at the edge of the track - see below a photo from an eye-witness:

Above: Alonso’s McLaren grinding to a halt after colliding with the barrier.

There were two stages to this mysterious crash: the first impact (around 30G) occurred at 93mph, where the car hit the wall almost sideways-on. The second stage was the result of continuous - and potentially unintended- steering input to the right, which slammed Alonso into the same wall again, causing another impact of 15G. Below you can see Sebastian Vettel passing the idle car in his Ferrari SF15-T:

Vettel later commented that the crash “seemed strange” and it’s hard to disagree. Normally, a crash in F1 at 93mph isn’t a cause for much concern as safety developments regulations this decade have been pretty airtight, so something like this (as strange as it is) wouldn’t really be considered a huge deal. This was no ordinary crash however - what was alarming was that, after the car stopped moving, Alonso didn’t get out of the car or even move whatsoever. Medical crew hurried to the stricken car and had to call for Fernando to be airlifted to the nearest hospital.

He ended up spending three days in hospital, being monitored and cared for by doctors and medical professionals. A photo was released towards the end of his stay at the hospital, letting the world know he was in a stable condition:

McLaren’s Explanation

McLaren released a statement following the incident, claiming it was a “large gust of wind” that threw off the car’s balance.

Hmm… Did they really expect us to believe that? I mean, Fernando Alonso, an undoubtable veteran of Formula One, losing complete control of his car because of some wind? Many people, including myself, highly doubt that this was the true reason for the crash.

So what are some alternative theories? Keep reading…

The Main Theories

What I personally find to be the most intriguing component of this story is what the motorsport world’s media and news outlets theorised regarding Alonso’s recovery from the incident:

One such example comes from the Spanish publication El País, which claimed Fernando awoke in hospital believing he was 13 years old and that he told doctors: “I’m Fernando, I race karts and I want to be a Formula One driver.”

Another example is Sport Bild, a German sports magazine, whose reporter Ralf Bach argued that Fernando began speaking Italian, convinced that he still drove for Ferrari.

I myself find the theory that Alonso was electrocuted by Honda’s faulty ERS (Energy Recovery System) the most believable - after all, you can be the best driver in the world and have total control over the car, but nobody’s immune to an electric shock and its effects!

Due to his continuous recovery, the McLaren driver had to miss the opening race of the season at Melbourne. He returned at the second round of the championship for the Malaysian Grand Prix and it was there that he addressed the perplexing crash.

Upon being questioned on his team’s claim of wind being the reason behind the crash, he rebutted “Even a hurricane would not move the car at that speed”. Alonso fought his corner, dismissing the team’s explanation and stating “it's clear there was a problem in the car".

The Woking-based team never made further comments regarding Alonso’s statements.

Some really thought-provoking stuff here I’m sure you’ll agree. It does make me wonder though: Is Fernando’s supposed memory loss the sole reason he’s still able to compete for podiums and wins with the best on the grid, even at the age of 41? Is he convinced he’s still mentally in his twenties?

To conclude…

So, then, will we ever find out what happened to Alonso during pre-season testing back in 2015? Well, it’s fairly safe to assume McLaren will never reveal their telemetry data or that we’ll see released the onboard or trackside CCTV footage of the crash. There is some hope, however, as Fernando is planning on publishing an autobiography, in which he’ll hopefully reveal all the juicy details of the crash that’s still clouded in mystery.

Only time will tell…