Fernando Alonso miraculously walked away from an horrific crash across the Albert Park circuit which brought a halt to the Australian Grand Prix this weekend.
The right wheel of Alonso's McLaren clipped Esteban Gutierrez's Haas at high speed as they approached turn three of the course which sent his vehicle hurtling into a barrier. After breaking apart, the F1 car flipped and rolled into another barrier.
But even after all that, the two-time Formula One world champion managed to escpae harm. No blame was apportioned towards either Alonso orGutierrez but an investigation will be carried out.
.@alo_oficial's first thought after crashing? "My mum will be watching on TV..." #AusGP https://t.co/trG78mlQ62
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 20, 2016
Meanwhile, the former was left visibly shaken by the ordeal and speaking to Sky Sports after the crash, Alonso said:
"I'm okay, I'm trying to put everything in place again. It was a scary crash. Lucky to be here and happy to be here, and thankful to be here -- especially to the (governing body) FIA and all the safety, thanks to that probably I'm alive.''
"We lost the power unit and the car because there was a lot of damage, but I'm super happy to be talking. It's tough, you can only see the rear wing, you don't have the full view of the track. And same for him, he's defending and can't see what the other guy is doing. So we are both happy."
Haas boss Gene Haas also spoke to Sky Sports and gave his interpretation of the crash.
"It looked like Alonso was trying to overtake Esteban and just got squeezed and ran out of room and the tyres made contact and Alonso went for a hell of a ride."
Dramatic pictures of @alo_oficial's terrifying crash at the #AustralianGP from @suttonimages #F1 pic.twitter.com/s7Bwz4g808
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) March 20, 2016
Dramatic pictures of @alo_oficial's terrifying crash at the #AustralianGP from @suttonimages #F1 pic.twitter.com/s7Bwz4g808
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) March 20, 2016
"I'm happy to be here, lucky to be here & thankful to be here. Thanks to the @FIA." – @Alo_Oficial. #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/FqsjVsJ6Zj
— Mobil 1 The Grid (@grid1tv) March 20, 2016
Another amazing shot #AusGP @alo_oficial crawling from the wreckage (via @ams_sport ) pic.twitter.com/GYKK4rgGZr
— Axis Of Oversteer (@AxisOfOversteer) March 20, 2016
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