Fernando Alonso, safe and sound after a dreadful accident
Beyond Nico Rosberg's victory today in Melbourne, the most spectacular moment of this Grand Prix will undoubtedly remain the crash between Alonso and Gutierrez on the 17th lap of the race. Unharmed, the Spaniard made immediate comments after this spectacular off-track incident.
“I am fine.” Everyone wanted to hear these words from the mouth of Fernando Alonso himself after the terrible accident involving him and Esteban Gutierrez. In the slipstream, the double World Champion took off on the rear wheel of the Mexican’s Haas before the braking of the 3rd corner in the second DRS section. The “Bull of Asturias” then hit the wall on his left before going into a series of the most frightening rolls.
🏎 Le crash de #FernandoAlonso en 3 photos. La plus spectaculaire ? La dernière: le pilote, indemne, salue la foule pic.twitter.com/YxWPFHPQHH
— B3zero (@B3zero) 20 mars 2016
The wild race of the McLaren ended in the gravel trap, with the car almost completely destroyed. Fortunately, the survival cell completely did its job.
F1 – GP d’Australie: violent accident entre Fernando Alonso et Esteban Gutiérrez #AusGP https://t.co/uf4tjanYFj pic.twitter.com/WjG30RT4YE
— RTL France (@RTLFrance) 20 mars 2016
Alonso was thus able to get out of the wreckage of his car on his own to reach the roadside, heading towards the circuit’s Medical Center.
Races we have many, but life we only have one.. I thank God we are all ok! pic.twitter.com/2vwpf5DMFP
— Esteban Gutierrez (@EstebanGtz) March 20, 2016
After passing the initial medical checks, the driver with number 14 was able to express his emotions.
“I was in Gutierrez’s slipstream before the braking point, and unfortunately, it’s a combination of factors that led to this crash. I am grateful for the safety of these cars: thanks to them, I am alive, standing here talking to you. That’s the most important thing!”
By moving too far to his left before braking, Gutierrez suddenly closed the door on Fernando Alonso who had chosen the inside to overtake.
That being said, Alonso does not blame his colleague: “It’s a racing incident. We were fighting at 300 km/h: every small mistake can lead to a big accident.”
For his part, Gutierrez claimed that his defense against Alonso was “correct.” He also wanted to emphasize the main thing: the health of the Spanish champion : “Fortunately, we are both safe and sound, it was a very strange moment. Once I got out of my car, I rushed over to him to see if everything was OK.”
The contentious action has been placed under investigation. The stewards have delivered their verdict regarding Esteban Gutierrez’s teammate: “The Stewards examined the evidence and concluded that no driver was fully or primarily to blame.”
This day therefore provided further evidence of the effectiveness of modern racing car safety systems. Fernando Alonso is becoming accustomed to these major crashes since his debut in 2001: we particularly remember his accident in Brazil in the rain in 2003, the start at Spa-Francorchamps in 2012, or the pile-up with Kimi Räikkönen in Austria last year. Not to mention the crash in private testing in Barcelona in February 2015.
Could this bad streak start to undermine his motivation, as he is currently only fighting for mid-table positions?
