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Australia

Alonso says Melbourne crash the biggest of his career

Fernando Alonso says his Australian Grand Prix crash was the biggest he has suffered during his entire racing career.

Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31 in a huge crash

Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31 in a huge crash

Sutton Images

Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31 in a huge crash
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31 exits his car after a huge crash
The McLaren MP4-31 of Fernando Alonso, McLaren after his race stopping crash
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31 in a huge crash
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31 in a huge crash
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31 in a huge crash
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31 exits his car after a huge crash
Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1 Team VF-16 and Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31
Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1 Team and Fernando Alonso, McLaren

The Spaniard emerged virtually unscathed from a terrifying roll early in the Albert Park event after hitting the back of Esteban Gutierrez's Haas as they battled for 19th position.

Alonso is no stranger to big crashes, and famously limped away from a massive accident at the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix after hitting a tyre and ploughing into a wall.

When asked if the Melbourne crash was as bad as his one in Brazil, he said: "No, this was probably harder than the Brazil one.

"You are a bit scared after the first impact and when you see you are in the air, you hope to land the right and not against a wall or head-on or something.

"When you are rolling you want it to stop, but you feel it's never stopping. Then when it stopped I saw a small hole to get out and I thought I'd get out quickly, because at home they'd want me to get out quickly. That's the first thing I thought."

Later, through his Instagram account, Alonso added: "I am aware that today I spent some of the luck remaining in life, I want to thank McLaren, the FIA for the safety on this cars. Also my colleagues and fans for the concern and unconditional support."

Sore

Although being given the all-clear by medical staff after the event, Alonso said he expects to feel a bit sore in days to come, and is gutted about seeing a point-scoring opportunity slip from his grasp.

"Everything hurts a bit because everything inside your body moves when you are going so fast," he said.

"The knees hurt a bit, because you are crashing against the cockpit and the steering column. Tomorrow I'll need some ice but other than that, all fine, and very lucky."

Disappointment

Amazingly, Alonso said his overriding feeling on Sunday night was that he had failed to land any points, and that he had already lost his first power unit of the campaign.

"I'm a bit disappointed for not having finished the race and for not scoring points," he said.

"Also the wreck of the car is big and it means we've lost a power unit and we'll use the second one right away. But apart from that frustration, I'm happy to be here talking to you.

"Because when you are running at 300km/h, you are always risking your life. If in one of those rolls, you get the wrong hit, you have a serious problem. So I'm thankful and wishing to get back in the car again."

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Edition

Australia