Esteban Gutierrez says he was “really scared” and “quite worried” when he first saw Fernando Alonso’s wrecked McLaren-Honda after the two had heavily collided in the Australian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard was chasing the Mexican driver hard on the run down to Turn 3 when he clipped the rear left of the Haas, which catapulted Alonso into a series of frightening rolls in the gravel trap ahead.
Although Gutierrez’ VF-16 was pretty damaged, it paled in comparison to the double world champion's MP4-31, who came to a rest upside down and with only the survival cell intact.
“It was very scary to be there and see both cars, mainly Fernando’s,” Gutierrez said. “I was really scared when I first saw in the mirrors so I came out very quickly, jumped out of the car and went straight to him. I was quite worried so that was a big relief when I saw he was fine.
“That’s the most important thing of all. The accident is an accident and we just need to see that the outcome was good.”
Asked to describe the crash from his perspective, Gutierrez, who was making his return to grand prix racing in Melbourne, says the whole sequence of events unfolded very fast.
“It really caught me by surprise. I obviously knew that he was behind but when I braked everything came really quick. I didn’t really understand what happened.
“Looking at the video, I saw that he went on the left and probably it’s just a bit the braking. But as I said the most important is that we are both fine, especially Fernando.”
Although the Haas appeared to drift slightly left under braking, Alonso immediately said Gutierrez was not at fault and was just happy to be still alive thanks to the progress made in terms of safety in recent years.
Upon reviewing the accident, the Australian Grand Prix stewards decided that no further action would be taken.
REPORT: Rosberg beats Hamilton after huge Alonso crash
AS IT HAPPENED: 2016 Australian Grand Prix
2016 F1 season: Team-by-team preview
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