Fernando Alonso's first thought once his car came to a rest was that he should get out - his mother would be worried.
On the 17th lap of the Australian Grand Prix, the McLaren driver clipped the rear end of Esteban Gutierrez. The car immediately began to break up and then flipped twice before hitting a barrier.
Somehow, the Spaniard - presumably much to the relief of his mother - emerged unscathed.
Here' the crash.
That Alonso crash though... ? https://t.co/xtHMSCpQAs
— Stephen Williamson (@WilliamAndSons) March 20, 2016
It's even more terrifying in real time.
Pfff ??? RT @Mattzel89: Real-time replays. Crazy. So glad @alo_oficial is ok! #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/Ya0fIfLp8p
— C σ p э т i и (@Cop3tin) March 20, 2016
Afterwards, Alonso told BBC Radio 5 Live that he was 'thankful' for the safety measures provided by the car.
I feel good. I'm trying to put everything in place again in the body. It was a big, big crash.
I tried to take the slipstream until the braking point and in the last moment it was a combination of factors that ended up in a crash, luckily we are both OK.
I'm thankful for the safety of the cars - I am alive talking to you.
I think it is a race incident. We both tried to fight and sometimes we forget we are at 300km/h and every little crash can become much bigger.
