Fernando Alonso leaves hospital, stopped from testing - F1 world wonders what really happened

The good news today is that McLaren Honda driver Fernando Alonso has left hospital and is now recovering at a family home in Spain after three days hospital observation following his testing accident in Barcelona.

He will not be testing this week in Barcelona and we await an update on whether he will be fit to race in Australia.

It was by no mean the biggest accident of his career, nor the most severe in recent F1 and yet the way that the medical care around him was conducted has raised a lot of questions about what happened to cause the accident and what is actually wrong with the Spaniard.

Despite several statements issued by McLaren shooting down conspiracy theories, describing this as a "normal testing accident", blaming it on a gust of wind and saying that Alonso was merely concussed, there is widespread doubt in the media, among fans and the F1 community as a whole.

Visting several of the leading F1 teams in the last few days, everyone is equally confused about the circumstances here, which in itself is unusual. It is normally the case that the people at the top of other teams know the inside line, but not in this case.

Leaving aside the cause of the accident for a moment, the first thing that doesn't add up is why Alonso spent three nights in hospital for a concussion from a relatively moderate speed, side impact accident. It was not severe enough to break the car significantly nor for him to require a surgical collar for neck injury, for example, based on the photo which was tweeted.

One leading F1 light pointed out to me that Felipe Massa was kept in observation after his monstrous accident in the Canadian Grand Prix last June for a few hours for observation, with a concussion. Three days for a much less severe impact is an altogether different matter, although the third night was not spent in an IC unit but in a private room.

There has been speculation that Alonso may have received an electric shock from the ERS somehow, which knocked him out. Engineers tell me that this is possible if the driver's body connects two parts of the car which are at different potential, he makes the connection. It should be pointed out however that this is highly unlikely, according to engineers, as there are all kinds of failsafe systems and the car has multiple connections to ensure that there is no variation in potential from one part to another. This follows a BMW Sauber mechanic doing just that in the early days of KERS. He suffered a mild burn to the hand.

Also, the fact that McLaren mechanics and marshals attended the car without using rubber gloves, according to the contemporary photos, rather gives the lie to the electric shock theory; they were not concerned about electric shock and nor did they receive one. The ERS warning light was not in warning mode.

Another possibility put forward by medics is that Alonso had some form of seizure or fit while driving, or after the accident, which is possible in adults who have never had a fit before. If that were the case then medics say that a stay in hospital of three days would be appropriate to run tests on possible causes and to see whether he had a repeat. Alonso was reported to be blacked out when marshals attended him and not to have the strength to lift himself out of the car. He is reported to have been suffering from nausea and headaches while in hospital.

A fit or seizure can be caused by many things, including a brain tumour, but the fact that Alonso was released from hospital to go home today indicates that this can be ruled out, according to medics.

It is also possible that the apparently light side impact, with the rear right wheel taking the largest hit, nevertheless transferred a shock into his head and spine and this accounts for his blackout and nausea.

He certainly looked well enough when he arrived in Oviedo with his girlfriend tonight (below). Hopefully the worst is behind him. We will learn more in due course, no doubt. But as the Spaniard recovers at home, there is a real sense of mystery among everyone in F1 about this strange incident.