McLaren has played down reports Fernando Alonso's carbon seat was 'broken' in his high-speed Melbourne crash. We reported this week that amid claims the seat was broken amid the 46G forces, the FIA had launched an investigation so as to learn from the incident.
"Yes, it (the seat) was cracked but not broken, but we will replace it anyway," a McLaren spokesman told us on Wednesday. He later added: "The fact that the seat cracked but was not broken means it did its job well -- specifically, it flexed helpfully, as it was designed to do, and it efficiently absorbed a lot of the energy of the accident." (GMM)
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Replies (2)
Login to replykhasmir
Posts: 893
LOL, a cracked seat is a broken seat, no?
Of course it needs to be replaced, along with the chassis, PU, suspension, wings, bodywork, ... In other words, a whole new car, don't think anything can be salvaged from that wreck.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Maybe they class it in different stages? ;) The core is supposed to be pretty intact, if McLaren is to be trusted, but the PU was apparently destroyed beyond repair, so they'll have to replace the entire thing. Not a good start for McLaren..