Fernando Alonso Thankful Kimi Raikkonen Walked Away Unscathed after Their Horror Crash at the Austrian Grand Prix
- The pair came together at turn two, with Alonso's McLaren ending up on top of Raikkonen's Ferrari
- Alonso delighted that the first-lap shunt was not as serious as it looked
- He spoke of his relief at seeing Raikkonen removing his steering wheel
- The 33-year-old Spaniard retired for a fourth grand prix in succession
- Nico Rosberg took the race win for Mercedes, with McLaren still floundering
Daily Mail UK, 21 June 2015
Fernando Alonso admitted he was relieved to see Kimi Raikkonen walk away from their massive first-lap shunt at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The pair came together at turn two, with the McLaren of Alonso ending up on top of Raikkonen's Ferrari as they hit the barriers and brought out an early safety car.
Both walked away unscathed and only visited the medical centre as a precaution with replays of the incident proving inconclusive as to who was at fault.
Alonso (left) quickly checked to see if his former Ferrari team-mate Raikkonen (second left) was OK
Alonso and Raikkonen discuss what happened on the side of the track
Alonso offered his version of events after retiring for a fourth grand prix in succession, with McLaren still floundering at the back of the field as Nico Rosberg took the race win for Mercedes.
The Spaniard said: 'It was a very strange incident because he lost the car in fifth gear or something like that.
'Obviously it was quite scary.
'The car was moving left, right, left, right, with a lot of wheel-spin.
We were overtaking him left and right - all the cars - and then he lost the car on the left and I was on the left at that point and we crashed.
Alonso's car was towed away by a crane following the horrible shunt at the Red Bull Ring
'I could not see anything because with the seat position I was looking only at the sky and then I looked in the mirror and when I stopped I saw the car under my car.
'I jumped quickly and checked that he was OK.
'I tried to get out as quickly as possible to see if he was okay.
I saw him removing the steering wheel so I was relieved.'
Raikkonen confirmed former Ferrari team-mate Alonso's suspicions that it was wheel-spin which saw him squirm into the corner.
'I don't know what happened,' he said.
The cars of Alonso and Raikkonen wait to be returned to the garages after the massive crash
'I got some wheel-spin and it was a bit unusual.
'It's hard to say; it is what it is - a pretty poor weekend, but that's how it goes.'
The sister McLaren of Jenson Button was following close behind after both cars started on the back row following 25-place grid penalties.
'It was a horrible accident,' said Button, whose race finished on lap nine due to further technical problems.
'You never want cars to be in the air or on top of each other so I'm glad they're both OK and can walk away from it.'
Alonso of Spain and McLaren Honda gets a lift back to the paddock after the Spielberg crash
Fernando Alonso And Kimi Raikkonen Crash Austria F1 2015