Chilling audio from the aftermath of Formula One star George Russell’s final-lap crash at the Australian Grand Prix has questions being levelled at race control after what became a dangerous scene at Albert Park on Sunday.
Russell was in a fight with Fernando Alonso for sixth place when he slammed on the brakes and lost control of his Mercedes at turn seven before cannoning into the wall.
WARNING: Strong language in the video above.
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The impact of the collision was so severe that Russell’s car jolted back into the middle of the track, causing a terrifying hazard and significantly compromised the Brit’s safety with cars still flying past him, albeit slower than at normal race pace.
His car was tipped on its side as he clung onto his seat, helpless to escape the oncoming traffic.
Race control quickly issued a virtual safety car but, in audio that has quickly circulated on social media, Russell can be heard pleading for them to go a step further and stop the race with a red flag.
The corresponding footage shows the 26-year-old desperately trying to find the radio button on his steering wheel to effectively beg with race control.
“Red flag, red flag, red flag! I’m in the middle of the track,” he says.
Clearly not getting the response he is after, Russell presses again.
“Red flag, red flag — red, red, red, red, red! I’m in the middle… F****** hell,” he said.
Fans on social media were stunned his pleas were left unanswered.
“George desperately calling out for a red flag is a hard watch. This must be terrifying,” one wrote.
Another said: “Him BEGGING for a red flag and race control throwing out the virtual safety car is insane??? I’m so glad nothing serious happened here.”
Russell walked away unscathed.
Asked about the incident after the race, he was clearly infuriated by what happened.
“My take is I’ve gone off and that’s on me. I was half a second behind Fernando 100m before the corner then suddenly he came towards me extremely quick and I was right on his gearbox. I don’t know if he had a problem or not,” he told Sky Sports.
“He’s off to the stewards and that’s a bit bizarre in a circumstance like this.
“I’ve got nothing more to say right now. I need to see everything, just disappointed to end the race like that.
“It’s clear he braked 100m before the corner and was back on the throttle again and took the corner normally. We’ve already seen the data of that.”
But he stopped short of explicitly pinning the blame on Alonso.
“I’m not going to accuse him of anything until we see further,” Russell said.
“I was right behind him for many, many laps. I was half a second behind him before the corner. Then, suddenly he slowed up dramatically and got back on the power.
“I wasn’t expecting it and he caught me by surprise. That part is on me.
“It’s interesting he’s been called by the stewards. I’m intrigued as to what they have to say.”
Alonso said he had issues with his car that had been present for some time.
“I had some issues for the last 15 laps or something on the battery, on the deployment, so definitely I was struggling a little bit at the end of the race but I cannot focus on the car behind,” he said.
“But he’s (Russell) OK, apparently. I saw the car and I was very worried.”