"That's the take-off speed of a Boeing 747"- F1 analyst decodes Fernando Alonso's pace after collision with Lance Stroll at 2022 F1 US GP
Formula 1 analysts recently inspected that Fernando Alonso's collision with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll during the 2022 F1 United States Grand Prix was indeed, at a very high speed.
F1 expert Sam Collins explained that the speed of the car as it was pointed upwards in the air was more than the speed of a 'Boeing 747' airplane (when it takes off). Collins explained in the Formula 1 post-race show:
"And the reason for that - I've had a look at the data - is because the speed of the car was 184 mph as it was pointing in the sky. And if you want to know why it was pointing to the sky - well, that's the take-off speed of a Boeing 747."
Sam Collins continued:
"It's actually faster than the take-off speed of something like a light aircraft; they actually take off at about 110 mph."
When the race resumed after the first Safety Car incident, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were involved in a close-to-fatal incident during the 22nd lap of the GP at Circuit of the Americas.
Alonso tried to perform an overtake when Stroll turned to his side at an extremely high speed. The Alpine driver got into the Aston Martin's rear and frantically went mid-air with its nose high up, soon falling back and crashing into the wall.
Fernando Alonso. That’s it. That’s the tweet. https://t.co/uy1zGkWKHA
Lance Stroll was out of the race at that very moment. However, in a surprising turn of events, instead of suffering from a broken suspension (which many might have thought of), Alonso pitted, had his broken front wing changed, and went back on track. He put in an exceptional performance and finished the race P7.
FIA penalize Fernando Alonso but take it back after Alpine protests
During the race, one of Fernando Alonso's rear-view mirrors was broken and fell on the track due to the impact from the crash. Although no black and orange flag was waved at him by the stewards (which means that the driver has to drive back to the pits because of issues in the car), Haas protested against it after the race.
Following input from Haas, the FIA penalized the Spaniard with a 30-second time penalty, pushing him down from P7 to P15. Alpine protested against this and stated that since Haas protested 24 minutes post the deadline, the penalty should not be accepted. Surprisingly, the FIA accepted the claim from Alpine and the penalty was revoked.
I’m really happy that Fernando Alonso had his penalty taken away…
However, what the hell is going on at the FIA?
No pen… Haas protest and given pen… Alpine protest and no pen again…
Ridiculous 😂
Fernando Alonso's 30-second time penalty was taken away by the FIA, and he was reinstated to P7. Haas also protested against Sergio Perez, who raced with a damaged front-wing, but the FIA did not accept the plea in the first place.