George Russell’s full team radio after his 100mph crash on the last lap of the Australian Grand Prix as the British driver pleaded for a red flag amid fears for his life

• Russell crashed on the final lap of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne
• The British driver had been challenging Fernando Alonso for sixth place
• Russell was heard urging a red flag to be enforced with his car stuck on the track 

Team radio has revealed British driver George Russell’s pleas for a red flag after crashing at 100mph on the final lap of the Australian Grand Prix.

Russell’s car was left teetering on its side in turns six and seven after he slid through the gravel and into the barriers at high speed while battling Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. 

The Briton was seen moving freely straight after the impact, which left debris strewn across the track and forced the race to be completed under the virtual safety car.

Audio released after the Grand Prix has revealed Russell’s panicked state, with his car left stranded in the middle of the track with its floor facing the direction of ongoing cars.

‘Red flag, red flag, I’m in the middle of the track, red flag, red flag. Red, red, red, red, red,’ Russell shouted on team radio.

‘I’m in the middle. Red. F***. Why so long?’

Russell’s Mercedes team informed the Briton that a virtual safety car, rather than a red flag, had been employed by F1 control.

A medical car was also dispatched to the scene of Russell’s accident.

‘George, are you okay?’ a member of the team asked Russell.

‘I’m okay, I am in the middle of the track half upside down,’ he replied.

‘I just completely lost it, sorry guys.’

The stewards later announced Fernando Alonso had been given a 20-second time penalty after determining that his driving before Russell crashed was ‘potentially dangerous.’

‘Alonso explained to the stewards that he intended to approach Turn 6 differently, lifting earlier, and with less speed into the corner, to get a better exit,’ the stewards report read.

‘Russell explained to the stewards that from his perspective, Alonso’s manoeuvre was erratic, took him by surprise and caused him to close distance unusually fast, and with the resulting lower downforce at the apex of the corner, he lost control and crashed at the exit of the corner. 

‘There was no contact between the cars.’

The report concluded that Alonso drove in a manner that was at ‘very least “potentially dangerous”‘ given the very high speed nature of that point of the track.

Alonso, who dropped from sixth to eighth after his penalty, was also given three points on his licence. 

Russell, who walked away unhurt, was caught up in a social media scandal before the race when two Australian influencers were slammed for posting footage of him using a urinal at Albert Park in a shocking invasion of privacy.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz made a remarkable comeback from surgery to win the dramatic race, after Red Bull superstar Max Verstappen’s bid to equal his own Formula One record went up in smoke.

Two weeks after he was sidelined from the Saudi Arabian race due to appendicitis, Sainz claimed the third win of his F1 career, and first at Albert Park.

The Spaniard took the chequered flag ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris finishing third.

McLaren’s rising star Oscar Piastri came in fourth.