George Russell heard begging for red flag at Australian Grand Prix after last lap incident with Fernando Alonso

George Russell could be heard begging for a red flag after he was involved in a horror crash at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver was involved in a final-lap collision with Fernando Alonso as he attempted to chase the latter down in an entertaining ending.

However, in a moment that shocked viewers, Alonso closed the gap at Turn 6 with Russell looming, failing to keep control and veering off the track.

The 26-year-old remained safe but fears were heightened shortly after as his car, with Russell still inside, veered back into the track with the racing continuing.

His concerns could be heard by the radio as he pleaded for a halt in proceedings.

"Red flag, red flag, red flag," shouted the Mercedes driver.

"I'm in the middle of the track. Red flag, red flag.

"Red, red, red, red, red. I'm in the middle. Red. F****** hell."

A virtual safety car was soon deployed as the crash was quickly dealt with Down Under, with the stricken star safely rescued.

George Russell managed to secure sixth place on the starting grid at the Belgian grand prix following Friday's qualifying.

Lance Stroll's engineer also had a heroic part to play, as he warned the Canadian of the dangers lying ahead.

As the 25-year-old approached he said: "Yellow ahead. Russell off. Yellow ahead. Danger! He's in the track. Careful, careful, careful. VSC."

With Alonso handed a 20 second penalty for his wrongdoing, Russell failed to shift the blame as he spoke following proceedings in Melbourne.

“Well, it’s clear that he brakes 100 metres before the corner and then went back on the throttle again and took the corner normally," he told Sky Sports.

“We’ve already seen the data of that so I’m not going to accuse him of anything until we’ve seen further.

“But, you know, I was right behind him for many, many laps, I was half a second behind him approaching the corner and then suddenly, he slowed up very dramatically and got back from the power.

“I wasn’t expecting that and caught me by surprise. So that part’s on me, but it’s interesting that we’ve been called to the stewards so intrigued to see what is said.”

Topics: George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Formula 1

Matthew Holt

Matthew is a Freelance Sports Journalist who also works for Manchester United, GOAL and Reach PLC. He supports Scunthorpe United.

@_mattyholt