George Russell has walked away unscathed after destroying his Mercedes in a huge crash on the final lap of the Australian Grand Prix.
The Briton’s car was left teetering on its side at turns six and seven after sliding through the gravel into the barriers at high speed while battling Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Russell was able to move freely immediately after the collision, which left debris across the track and forced the race to be completed under the virtual safety car.
Russell’s car was an absolute wreck after crashing into the barriers at high speed while battling Fernando Alonso on the final lap
The British star and his Spanish rival are being investigated by stewards over the incident, with suspicion that Russell may have been given a braking test by the Aston Martin ace
Despite the heavy blow, Russell was able to move freely immediately after the crash and emerged from the wreck unharmed
Stewards are investigating the incident as they suspect the Spaniard could have given the Englishman a braking test.
The crash took place on the same part of the track where Williams’ Alex Albon crashed heavily in practice, and race winner Carlos Sainz appeared wary of that section when asking about Russell’s condition after winning the race, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.
“He had a big one, didn’t he?” Sainz said about his Mercedes rival.
“I said it about this corner, it’s too much.”
Sainz has made a remarkable comeback from surgery to win the dramatic race after Red Bull superstar Max Verstappen’s attempt to equal his own Formula 1 record went up in smoke.
Two weeks after being sidelined from the race in Saudi Arabia due to appendicitis, Sainz claimed the third victory of his F1 career, and the first at Albert Park.
Carlos Sainz later raised concerns about the section of track where Russell’s race ended – the same set of fast corners where Alex Albon wrecked his Williams on Friday.
Sainz overcame an appendectomy just two weeks ago to lead his Ferrari teammate to Melbourne to give the Prancing Horse a much-needed one-two finish (pictured)
Russell’s exit capped a disastrous weekend for Mercedes, with his teammate Lewis Hamilton also retiring on lap 17 due to an engine failure
The Spaniard took the checkered flag ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, while McLaren’s Lando Norris finished third.
McLaren’s rising star Oscar Piastri finished fourth, continuing the run of an Australian driver who had never stood on the podium in Melbourne.
The race ended under a virtual safety car after Mercedes’ George Russell suffered a huge crash on the final lap.
Verstappen’s attempt to win a 10th race in a row for the second time in less than 12 months ended after he suffered a car fire early in Sunday’s race.
After galloping to victories in the first two races of the season, Verstappen was a firm favorite to go back-to-back after winning for the first time at Albert Park last year.
The three-time defending champion started on pole, but Sainz, who qualified second, overtook him on the second lap.
The race was blown wide open when Max Verstappen was forced to retire on lap five after his Red Bull caught fire due to a defective right rear brake
The world champion said the brake was ‘locked’ from the start of the race, making it look like he was driving ‘with the handbrake on’
Verstappen then started complaining on the team radio about ‘losing the car’.
Shortly afterwards, smoke appeared from the rear of the 26-year-old’s car and he was forced into the pits on lap three, with no hope of returning.
“My right rear brake basically stuck from the moment the lights went out,” said Verstappen.
“The temperatures (in the car) kept rising to the point that it caught fire.
‘They (the engineers) could see what was going on, but they don’t know what caused it.
“We had a lot of good races in a row, I knew there would come a day when you would retire and unfortunately that day was today.”
It continues a mixed relationship with Australia for Verstappen, who was forced to retire in the 2022 edition.
Verstappen had won nine races in a row, dating back to the Japanese Grand Prix last September.
Last September in Singapore, Sainz was the last driver, apart from Verstappen, to win an F1 race.
A win at Albert Park would have put Verstappen on par with his own record, set by his ten consecutive victories from Miami to Monza last year.
Briton Lando Norris (right) is pictured spraying Sainz with champagne after finishing third
The win was the third of Sainz’s career and comes after the shock news that Hamilton will replace him at the Italian team next year
Verstappen won 19 races last season – the most in F1 history – on his way to a third straight title to completely dominate the rest of the field.
The Dutchman had also converted his last 18 poles into a race victory.
Verstappen wasn’t the only big name to suffer mechanical problems, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton forced to the back of the field on lap 17.
Hamilton, who started 11th after his worst qualifying session at Albert Park since 2010, returned to the garage for a disappointing race in his final season at Mercedes before switching to Ferrari next year.
It was the first time that Verstappen and Hamilton – the two most successful drivers of the past decade in F1 – withdrew from the same race due to mechanical failures.
Australian veteran Daniel Ricciardo, who missed last year’s race in Melbourne, finished twelfth with his new team, RB.
