Team radio has revealed British driver George Russell’s pleas for a red flag after crashing at 100mph on the final lap of the Australian Grand Prix.
Russell’s car was left teetering on its side in turns six and seven after he slid through the gravel and into the barriers at high speed while battling Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
The Briton was seen moving freely straight after the impact, which left debris strewn across the track and forced the race to be completed under the virtual safety car.
Audio released after the Grand Prix has revealed Russell’s panicked state, with his car left stranded in the middle of the track with its floor facing the direction of ongoing cars.
‘Red flag, red flag, I’m in the middle of the track, red flag, red flag. Red, red, red, red, red,’ Russell shouted on team radio.
George Russell’s car ended up on its side after his crash on the final lap of the Australian Grand Prix
The British star crashed into the barriers before eventually ending up in the middle of the track
Russell emerged unhurt from the crash but he quickly urged a red flag to be called
‘I’m in the middle. Red. F***. Why so long?’
Russell’s Mercedes team informed the Briton that a virtual safety car, rather than a red flag, had been employed by F1 control.
A medical car was also dispatched to the scene of Russell’s accident.
‘George, are you okay?’ a member of the team asked Russell.
‘I’m okay, I am in the middle of the track half upside down,’ he replied.
‘I just completely lost it, sorry guys.’
The stewards later announced Fernando Alonso had been given a 20-second time penalty after determining that his driving before Russell crashed was ‘potentially dangerous.’
‘Alonso explained to the stewards that he intended to approach Turn 6 differently, lifting earlier, and with less speed into the corner, to get a better exit,’ the stewards report read.
‘Russell explained to the stewards that from his perspective, Alonso’s manoeuvre was erratic, took him by surprise and caused him to close distance unusually fast, and with the resulting lower downforce at the apex of the corner, he lost control and crashed at the exit of the corner.
‘There was no contact between the cars.’
A virtual safety car was instead imposed with a medical team dispatched to Russell
The British driver had been battling Fernando Alonso for sixth when the crash occurred
Alonso was given a 20 second penalty which dropped from from sixth to eighth in the race
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz claimed victory in Melbourne with Max Verstappen forced to retire
The report concluded that Alonso drove in a manner that was at ‘very least “potentially dangerous” given the very high speed nature of that point of the track.
Alonso, who dropped from sixth to eighth after his penalty, was also given three points on his licence.
Russell, who walked away unhurt, was caught up in a social media scandal before the race when two Australian influencers were slammed for posting footage of him using a urinal at Albert Park in a shocking invasion of privacy.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz made a remarkable comeback from surgery to win the dramatic race, after Red Bull superstar Max Verstappen’s bid to equal his own Formula One record went up in smoke.
Two weeks after he was sidelined from the Saudi Arabian race due to appendicitis, Sainz claimed the third win of his F1 career, and first at Albert Park.
The Spaniard took the chequered flag ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris finishing third.
McLaren’s rising star Oscar Piastri came in fourth.
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