NEWS

Fernando Alonso: Unanswered questions over F1 crash

Fernando Alonso has rejected McLaren's claims his pre-season testing crash was not caused by mechanical failure but he insists it was caused by a steering problem. The 33-year-old had to pass a fitness test to convince F1's medics he is fit enough to race again this weekend. But he was keen to set a few things straight about his high-profile crash.

Alonso said the steering "locked to the right" as he rounded Turn Three at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

What do we know about the accident?  There have been conflicting reports about the speed of Alonso's accident, which happened on the exit of Turn Three at the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya. But some facts are known. 

The computer telemetry from the car, which contains all the data, including braking and steering inputs, has not been released by McLaren.  The GPS and lap time data shows both the line Alonso was on, and the speed he was doing at the time. 

Alonso's previous lap was the fastest he had done that day. On the subsequent lap, the lap of the crash, he brakes deeper into Turn One, and is wider out of it.That dictates a different line through the kink of Turn Two, from where he takes a wider entry - a potentially faster line - into Turn Three, the racing line of which sees the drivers run right out at the edge of the track throughout the second part of the corner.