Crashes are rather common in F1. But oftentimes, drivers can experience massive crashes that lead to a life-threatening situation for them. Fernando Alonso once suffered such a crash at the 2016 Australian GP, which led him to suffer from pneumothorax and consequently miss out on the next race in Bahrain.
Alonso crashed in Melbourne while trying to overtake Haas’ Esteban Gutierrez in turn 3. The Spaniard was a bit slow to react and rammed into the back of Gutierrez’s car before hitting the wall. It was a rather violent crash with an impact force of 45G that sent Alonso’s McLaren in a somersault before coming to a halt upside down against the wall.
ICYMI: Fernando Alonso walks away from huge crash at the #AusGP (VIDEO) >> https://t.co/9xAKLWDd2M pic.twitter.com/AruXDAY8aP
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 20, 2016
After the crash, the two-time world champion did not feel it was too serious despite feeling some pain overall. After a proper check, they figured out that Alonso had fractured ribs and a pneumothorax on the lung. A pneumothorax is basically a ‘collapsed lung’ condition that happens when air accumulates between the lung and the chest wall.
At the Bahrain GP two weeks later, Alonso stated as quoted by Crash.net, “The pneumothorax is gone, more or less, but I have rib fractures and, because of that, there is the risk of driving because F1 has a unique position in the car and the G-forces could move the fractures into the lung.”
As a result, the Spaniard had to sit out the Bahrain weekend due to fractured ribs. However, he was still present at the track to help his replacement Stoffel Vandoorne.
Alonso didn’t want to miss the action
McLaren had advised Alonso to fly home as he had tried his level best to recover in time for the Bahrain GP but couldn’t. However, the two-time world champion was keen on staying at the track to help out Vandoorne, as it was a “big opportunity” for the youngster.
Alonso also stated that he wanted to stay to hear the cars from the sidelines and also look at the team’s updates on their car. All in all, the racer in the Spaniard did not wish to miss out on any action for the season despite this setback of missing out on a race.
Eventually, Alonso returned during the very next weekend in China itself. While McLaren were not as competitive that season, he did his level best to finish P12.
