George Russell was not too pleased with competitor Fernando Alonso after he crashed on the last lap of the Australian Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz secured a remarkable victory Down Under on Sunday but the race ended under the virtual safety car after Russell was part of a big collision.
With fresher tires, the Mercedes driver was chasing Alonso for sixth place when suddenly he seemed to lose control and skidded off the track, hitting the barrier and ending up on his side in the path of other cars.
Thankfully, the British driver was unharmed and got out of his car, but Mercedes were very angry with Alonso, with claims that the Aston Martin driver may have tested Russell's brakes and caused the crash.
The incident has been referred to the stewards.
Right after the race, Russell was cautious about blaming his competitor for dangerous driving, but clearly was not happy with what happened, telling Sky Sports: 'I've gone off and that's on me.
‘I was half a second behind Fernando 100 meters before the corner then suddenly he came towards me extremely quick and I was right on his gearbox. I don’t know if he had a problem or not.
‘He’s off to the stewards and that’s a bit bizarre in a circumstance like this. I’ve got nothing more to say right now. I need to see everything, just disappointed to end the race like that.
‘It’s clear he braked 100m before the corner and was back on the throttle again and took the corner normally. We’ve already seen the data of that.’
When asked if he thought Alonso had tested his brakes, the 26-year-old replied: 'I’m not going to accuse him of anything until we see further. I was right behind him for many, many laps. I was half a second behind him before the corner.
‘Then, suddenly he slowed up dramatically and got back on the power. I wasn’t expecting it and he caught me by surprise. That part is on me.
It’s interesting he’s been called by the stewards. I’m intrigued as to what they have to say.’
Meanwhile, Alonso, who has been rumored to join Russell at Mercedes next season, felt he was entirely innocent, saying: ‘Obviously I was focusing in front of me and not behind.
‘I had some issues for the last 15 laps or something on the battery, on the deployment, so definitely I was struggling a little bit at the end of the race but I cannot focus on the car behind.
‘But he’s ok, apparently. I saw the car and I was very worried.’
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