McLaren’s Alonso ´lucky´ to walk away from frightening crash

Fernando Alonso admits he was “lucky” to walk away unharmed following a massive crash at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Alonso collided with Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez going into turn three before slamming into the wall and flipping several times, causing the race to be red flagged.

The two-time Formula One world champions’ McLaren was severely damaged, but the Spaniard fortunately escaped without injury.

“It was a big crash,” he told the BBC after being discharged from the medical centre at Albert Park.

“I tried to take the slipstream of Gutierrez until the braking point and in the last moment it was a combination of factors that we ended up with a crash.

“Lucky we are both okay talking to you guys [the media], and I’m thankful for the safety of the car and I am alive talking to you. Thanks to FIA work and continual safety.”

Alonso insisted there was no one to blame for the incident, putting it down as just a “racing incident”.

“We both tried to fight and obviously sometimes we forget we are at 300km/h and every little crash can become much bigger,” he said.

“This one was disappointing because we start the championship with zero points and damaged the power unit so we probably have to take the second one immediately.”

Nico Rosberg claimed victory in Melbourne, ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.