Fernando Alonso’s take off speed during his crash at the 2022 US GP was faster than an airplane
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The incident between Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (View from Alonso's onboard, photo from Formula 1)
Following a 2 year hiatus, Fernando Alonso returned back to F1 and that too with a bang as he joined forced with Alpine which was previously known as Renault. This is the same team that he won 2 back to back championships with from 2005-2006. Following their reunion, it’s like nothing has changed and the Spaniard has gotten back to his old form.
After scoring a podium finish back in 2021 at the race in Qatar, Fernando Alonso has shown that he still has what it takes to have a place in Formula 1. After the 2022 US GP, the Alpine driver made headlines after his bizarre crash with Lance Stroll that flung half his car into the air. This was a scary incident and it was a relief watching Stroll and Fernando come out with no major injuries. The crash itself was absolutely bonkers and could have been much worse.
The US GP is always a race with a proper bunch of drama and incidents and this year’s iteration was no different. Following the first lap tangle between George Russell and pole-sitter Carlos Sainz , next up was the horrible crash between Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. As the Alpine driver closed in on the Aston Martin, Stroll moved slightly towards the left very late which didn’t give Alonso enough time to take evasive action. This led to the Spaniard being flung halfway in the air.
Fernando Alonso’s take-off speed during his crash in the US GP was 184 mph
Yes you read that right. 184 mph was the speed that Fernando was doing as his car was flung into the air halfway after his collided with Lance Stroll. What was more surprising was the comparison that came up along with it. The take off speed of a small airplane is about 110 mph. Fernando Alonso on the other was doing way more that that. It really puts to light how fast the cars we’re going when contact was made.
When the two time world champion collided with Stroll, he used his reflexes to keep his A522 beast from crashing into the wall while he corrected his car mid air to have minimal impact on the barrier. This in turn led to him still being able to continue the race. Lance Stroll on the other hand wasn’t able to. The Aston Martin was spun around and the damage was beyond repair. It is a miracle that no one hit him while he was spinning because that would have been brutal.
How Fernando Alonso managed to keep his cool is something that only he would know. Having started the race in P14, the Alpine driver charged through the pack and was sent flying when he hit stroll and had some damage to the car. This didn’t affect him as he continued with the race and gave it his all to finish in P7. Unfortunately, a post race penalty led to the driver being shunted out of the points. However this did not put shadow on the fact that this was one of his best drives in the sport.
Also Read: “Don’t get it,” F1 Fans fail to understand the jumbled joke Lewis Hamilton made on Lando Norris
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Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)