Rapid reactions & radio confusion after Russell’s shunt · RaceFans

For the second year in a row, the Australian Grand Prix ended in dramatic fashion, this time when George Russell lost control of his Mercedes and crashed in pursuit of Fernando Alonso at one of the fastest corners on the track.

The shunt created a dangerous situation which required fast reactions from both the drivers and race control.

Thankfully, the first drivers on the crash scene were able to avoid getting tangled up in the crash. However as the Medical Car was scrambled to attend to Russell as quickly as possible, some drivers were surprised to see it appear on track, having seemingly not been advised it would be there.

Here is how the alarming situation at the end of the race played out over team radio.

The crash

Alonso was less than a second ahead of Russell as they began their penultimate lap. Russell had used DRS along the Lakeside Drive back straight to pull up close to the Aston Martin, but Alonso was concerned that the Mercedes may eventually get by before the end of the race.

Approaching turn six, Alonso lifted off the throttle and braked briefly, then accelerated before braking a second time to make the corner. Russell closed in on the Aston Martin at a rapid pace at the apex, lost control of his car and sliding wide onto the gravel.

Although his Mercedes scrubbed off a considerable amount of speed before it hit the barriers at, his momentum was enough to bounce the W15 back onto the live race track. His left-rear wheel buckled under the car, pitching it up on its side and leaving Russell exposed to cars approaching the blind entry to the corner.

Alonso rounded turn eight and onto the straight to find his rival was no longer in his mirrors. Soon after, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed by race director Niels Wittich, effectively ending the race which was now on its last lap.

When Alonso came back around a lap later and saw Russell’s car in the middle of the road he said: “Wow, is he okay?”

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Avoiding action

The world feed footage had cut to Russell almost instantly after his impact with the barrier. At the same time, Lance Stroll was about to round turn five and approach the crash scene. Despite being seconds away from the 200kph right hander, Stroll got an immediate urgent warning from his race engineer.

Ben Michell was in his final race working on the pit wall with Stroll, and one of his last messages was one of his most urgent:

Seven seconds further back, Yuki Tsunoda was the next car to arrive, which he did at vastly reduced speeds after the Virtual Safety Car was activated. After passing the stranded Mercedes in the middle of the road, Tsunoda’s main concern was Russell’s wellbeing.

Russell’s precarious position posed a problem to the field as to how best to navigate around him. Nico Hulkenberg was the third driver to arrive but the first to opt to pass the Mercedes on the right-hand side of the track, which proved slightly more difficult than going by on the left.

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Race leader Carlos Sainz Jnr had already passed the timing line to begin his final lap of the grand prix. He got the Virtual Safety Car signal as he rounded turn three, before being warned to stay to the left of the crashed car when he passed it.

Meanwhile, Sainz’s team mate, Charles Leclerc, was the next on track. He had just snatched the fastest lap of the race from Lando Norris on lap 56, which led to some radio confusion with race engineer Xavier Marcos Padros.

Behind the two Ferraris, McLaren were contemplating pushing on the final lap to reclaim the bonus point for fastest lap with third-placed Norris. But they quickly abandoned that plan when the yellow flags appeared on the timing screen.

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Medical Car confusion

Norris’s team mate Oscar Piastri was 12 seconds behind when the crash occurred, approaching the final corner. As he crossed the finish line, the Medical Car was scrambled out of the pit lane directly in front of the McLaren driver, around 20 seconds after the first yellow flag appeared on the FIA system. The Medical Car ran side-by-side with Piastri on the run to turn one, with the McLaren driver allowing it into the corner first.

However, this created some confusion. Piastri assumed it was the Safety Car ahead of him and, as he was not the leader, wondered if he should pass the vehicle. Piastri followed the Medical Car all the way to the crash site where it stopped to assist Russell. But only then did the ‘Medical Car deployed’ message appear on the race control information system – exactly one minute after it had left the pit lane.

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The Medical Car’s deployment also gave Pierre Gasly some anxiety. He was due to serve a five second time penalty for crossing the white line at pit exit earlier in the race and was seven seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed.

Drivers can go as fast as they can under VSC as long as they do not exceed their VSC lap delta. As Piastri ahead slowed to allow the Medical Car a clear run to the crash site, Gasly had to follow suit. As they were not going as fast as they could typically go under the Virtual Safety Car, this allowed Bottas to close up and put Gasly’s position in danger.

One driver who benefited from Russell’s crash was 11th-placed Kevin Magnussen. The Haas driver was one place behind his team mate Nico Hulkenberg when it suddenly dawned on race engineer Mark Slade that a double points finish for the team was now on. However, like many of his rivals, Magnussen was much more concerned that his fellow driver was safe:

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