Second Barcelona Test

Second Barcelona Test - First Day

3rd & 7 37yd

Dennis also approached the FIA himself for investigation into accident #F1

by Nate Saunders via twitter 2/26/2015 11:53:03 AM
Dennis also insists McLaren is trying to be "transparent" with information around the crash and is not concealing anything. He says doctors are "super-careful" with head injuries these days and they wanted to make sure everything was "perfect" before allowing Alonso to leave hospital.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 11:55:25 AM
Hi @Laurence! Why don't the teams test the performance of intermediate tyres during this drizzle?

by Satish 2/26/2015 11:55:45 AM
@Satish: A couple of them are. Hamilton and Kvyat are out on track. For the others it's a good reason to have an early lunch break in the hope it will dry up in the afternoon.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 11:56:22 AM
by Sauber F1 Team via twitter 2/26/2015 11:56:39 AM
what's up with mclaren?
only 7 laps,new problems?

by hondalicious 2/26/2015 11:59:30 AM
@hondalicious: It's another engine problem, no news yet on when the car will return to the track.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 11:59:53 AM
That's the end of the morning session. A bit of a damp squib this morning with drizzle coming down in the last hour or so. Hopefully things will brighten up this afternoon.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 12:01:35 PM
An update from Ron Dennis. The key points:
-Alonso is perfectly healthy and McLaren hopes he will race in Australia. Waiting on doctors to clear him. If not Magnussen will race.
-Alonso was unconscious for a brief period of time after crash. McLaren puts that down to his head striking either side of the cockpit during impact.
-Was kept in hospital due to heightened awareness over head injuries in sport and because he displayed concussion symptoms. Scan showed he was perfectly healthy.

by Nate Saunders 2/26/2015 12:03:11 PM
LUNCHTIME UPDATE: 48 laps this morning for @LewisHamilton with unexpected rain causing an early end to the session! #F1 #BackToWork

by Mercedes-AMG F1 via twitter 2/26/2015 12:03:30 PM
by Mercedes-AMG F1 via twitter 2/26/2015 12:03:32 PM
An actual quote from Dennis: "Fernando is devoid of all injuries". Also refuted the electrocution theory.

by Nate Saunders 2/26/2015 12:04:01 PM
The oddest thing was Ron Dennis saying the team is yet to speak to Alonso about the crash and whether he has any recollection of it.

by Nate Saunders 2/26/2015 12:05:21 PM
Testing resumes at 14:00 local time - in about 50 minutes - so we will take a little lunch break of our own and be back with you then.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 12:06:59 PM
Nate, is there any word on the new rules about pit lane communication during races and coaching? How will this play with the rookies? have there been special training that the drivers have to go with to learn to make own adjustments to the cars during races?

by MikeTheFan 2/26/2015 12:41:52 PM
@MikeTheFan: At the moment the regulations are the same as they were at the end of last year. No driver coaching as in "brake here", "less throttle there" but they can still inform drivers of imminent problems with the car. However, it is interesting to see that all teams have fitted a full screen display in the cockpit to offer more info to the driver. Red Bull and Williams were two teams without this feature last year but have it installed this year.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 12:43:58 PM
Here's a look at the new Williams screen, mounted on the "dashboard" rather than the steering wheel, which is unique among the cars we've seen so far.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 12:52:33 PM
Hi Nate. I missed all your commentary this morning, trying to catch up now.... What exactly is the reason JB only did 7 laps this morning? Some more problems with the car?

by Jan Visser 2/26/2015 12:52:42 PM
@JanVisser: McLaren says it is another engine problem. Details are a bit thin on the ground at the moment.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 12:53:05 PM
Hi guys, I wonder why the McLaren does not feature a monkey seat. Is it that they have missed on something all its major competitors have? Although at the moment it seems like a monkey seat is the least of their troubles...

by XXX 2/26/2015 12:53:18 PM
The Williams version looks like an off-the-rack sat/nav.

by mfbull 2/26/2015 12:53:52 PM
@XXX: It is definitely not a priority at the moment. But it's interesting to see that McLaren has taken a different approach to the rear suspension compared to its rivals - as it did last year. We might see a return to the "blockers" mounted to the rear suspension, but I don't see why that would rule out a monkey seat as well. A lot more to come on the McLaren - not least a reliable power unit!

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 12:55:29 PM
Here's a picture of the rear of the McLaren (albeit from Jerez). The lower wishbones are highlighted with their unusual layout. It also shows the lengths the teams go to to make suspension arms aero positive.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 12:58:08 PM
Fernando Alonso yet to be cleared for Australian Grand Prix
ESPN F1Fernando Alonso's participation at the Australian Grand Prix is still uncertain as McLaren waits for doctors to give him the all clear following his crash during the second test in Spain - news from McLaren F1

by Nate Saunders 2/26/2015 12:59:07 PM
Thanks Laurence. The "blockers" were a curious design... I always thought they would act more as parachutes causing way too much drag... will be very interesting to see how the car evolves this year... I think the McLaren may be the team with the steepest learning curve this year...

by XXX 2/26/2015 1:01:30 PM
What is the major problem on the McLaren? Is it just the power unit? Or some other part in the car somewhere?

by Glenny 2/26/2015 1:03:27 PM
@Hal: I'm not sure how a driver is expected to "protect his head" in a heavy crash - that is what the helmet is for. But you have to accept that even if he was going relatively slow for a crash in F1, we are still talking about severe forces on the head. I see nothing that suggests he was unconscious before the first impact - not least he was braking and downshifting.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 1:36:11 PM
F1 needs all of these but more than anything it needs to make more noise!

I was lucky enough to be sitting by the first chicane at Monza last year and you couldn't hear the cars coming down the pit straight - they'd just suddenly appear in front of you as if from nowhere.

You know there's a problem when F1 is quieter than not just GP2 and GP3 but even the Porsche Supercup...

by wilsaaaaaaaaarn 2/26/2015 1:36:32 PM
@wilsaaaaaaaaarn: A very good point. I watched a replay of the 1995 Canadian GP the other day and even on TV the sound was so much better. There is nothing like the sound of the Ferrari V12, which won that race with Jean Alesi at the wheel. But for many reasons, cost largest among them, we can't go back to those days and should really stick with what we've got.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 1:39:37 PM
What does F1 need from a rules overhaul?
I'd like to see something a bit closer to 80's turbo racing, where there is no fuel flow restrictions and a not so accurate fuel indicator so you get periods in the race where drivers are on full boost but towards the end of the race dont know if they are going to finish, just imagine the race for the final point where everyone from P11 downwards is on max boost with nothing to loose

by Bevlad 2/26/2015 1:39:50 PM
@Bevlad: But there was a boost restriction in the 1980s and there is not a boost restriction now. Both types of engine are limited, just in different ways.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 1:40:33 PM
@wilsaaaaaaaaarn - I disagree, now you can hear the difference between engine sounds, hear the tires, hear the turbos, hear what could not be heard before when your ears were drowned by the loudness of the engines

by Canuck 2/26/2015 1:41:17 PM
on your current poll, there are clearly things that would benefit from an overhaul in F1 today but you don't list long term consistency as an option, IMO that's what it needs most of all.

by Prost 8 2/26/2015 1:41:38 PM
@Prost8: There is an option to leave it as it is...

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 1:41:52 PM
by Lewis Hamilton via twitter 2/26/2015 1:42:50 PM
F1 needs refueling to come back.

by Kimi_Fan 2/26/2015 1:43:02 PM
well the sport would regain much of its glamour back if they just reintroduce the 1000bhp engines..that would compensate for not so good looking modern f1 cars..

by Salman 2/26/2015 1:44:21 PM
@Laurence: your overhaul questioner is missing one main thing THE SOUND

by noski 2/26/2015 1:44:37 PM
@Laurence: That's very true, and I think another thing it urgently needs is the financial side of things sorting out in order to keep more teams in the sport, so tearing up the engine formula isn't a short term fix.

They could do with taking the radio button off the steering wheels too and just going back to pitboards, which I think would a) eliminate coded messages and b) prove which drivers are mentally tough enough to manage a race that way.

by wilsaaaaaaaaarn 2/26/2015 1:45:16 PM
@nate, what do you think about the SFI car? Or is it too early to tell without seeing them race tomorrow? They also seem to be having Red Bull type S ducts and their camera placement is also interesting/illegal!?

by Rob 2/26/2015 1:46:46 PM
There is an interesting duct on the nose - I'm not entirely sure what that is for. It's hard to tell from the image (which isn't a photo) so we should reserve judgement for when we see it in the carbon fibre tomorrow (hopefully)

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 1:48:49 PM
F1 needs a cost cap clear rule, a FIA power limitation device, a better calendar with races closer to the real and\or the potential fans, needs a F2 division,strong and having the test drivers of the F1 teams running among the future stars and some of the Academy drivers. Needs more internet, respect for those who use the F1 APP (still dont have the 2015 calendar ). Needs more testing before and during the season. The list of demands is big.

by Racing Fan 2/26/2015 1:49:19 PM
Any cars out on the track?

by Canuck 2/26/2015 1:49:45 PM
@Canuck: Just Ericsson in the Sauber at the moment.

by Laurence Edmondson 2/26/2015 1:49:56 PM
by McLaren via twitter 2/26/2015 1:50:33 PM

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

Football
- Results
- Today
- Fixtures
Cricket
- Results
- Today
- Fixtures
Rugby
- Results
- Today
- Fixtures
- Days
- Hrs
- Mins
- Secs
F1 - Chinese GP
Chinese Grand Prix April 10-12

April 10: Free practice 1
10:00 local | 02:00 GMT | 03:00 BST
April 10: Free practice 2
14:00 local | 06:00 GMT | 07:00 BST
April 11: Free practice 3
12:00 local | 04:00 GMT | 05:00 BST
April 11: Qualifying
15:00 local | 07:00 GMT | 08:00 BST
April 12: Race
14:00 local | 06:00 GMT | 07:00 BST

Race home

Circuit profile
ESPNOtherLive >>

Snooker - China Open
Tennis - Miami Open

Second Barcelona Test - First Day

Fernando Alonso yet to be cleared for Australian Grand Prix

Live Sports

Football

Cricket

Rugby

F1 - Chinese GP

ESPNOtherLive >>