Daniel Ricciardo escaped injury when his Formula One car was struck by a flying tyre in a chaotic start to the Brazilian Grand Prix on Monday morning (AEDT).
The loose tyre hit the rear wing of Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri following a collision between Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg moments after the start in Interlagos.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Daniel Ricciardo sustains damage from flying tyre.
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Albon, 13th on the grid, drew alongside Hulkenberg but the two machines made contact, sending the London-born driver into Hulkenberg’s Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen and then into the barrier.
The force of the impact tore the left-rear off Albon’s Williams, with the bouncing tyre — which weighs 11.5jg — flying narrowly over the top of Ricciardo’s head before smashing into the back of his car.
Footage from Ricciardo’s cockpit shows him turning sharply to the left to avoid the flying rubber.
“I tried to miss it, but the tyre was in the air and it clipped my rear wing,” he told his team.
The 34-year-old was able to limp back to the pits for repairs following the fortunate escape, while both Albon and Magnussen emerged unscathed. Hulkenberg was able to carry on before the race was red-flagged.
The incident mattered little for runaway championship leader Max Verstappen though, who completed yet another emphatic victory.
Lando Norris finished second for McLaren, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso holding off Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez for third.
But it was an abysmal afternoon for the two Australian drivers, Ricciardo (13th) and Oscar Piastri (14th), who brought up the rear of the field after being caught up in that chaotic start.
Piastri was also caught up in the drama, as his McLaren was rear-ended by Magnussen’s spinning vehicle.
Both Australians were able to return for a restart after the 25-minute red flag delay but were relegated to the back of the field, both being penalised a lap because they didn’t do a lap under the safety car and went straight into the pits before the red flag.
Mercedes had a bad time too, with Lewis Hamilton eighth and George Russell forced to retire his car with an engine failure 12 laps from the end. Hamilton crossed the line an eye-watering 63 seconds behind.
When the race restarted, Norris, now second, put the pressure on Verstappen but the Dutchman, as ever, responded brilliantly, leading from start to finish and eventually beating Norris by 8.2 seconds.
Verstappen, now on 52 career wins, clinched the title in Qatar last month while Red Bull also retained the constructors’ title. The champions have won 19 of the 20 races so far.
While the Dutch driver’s victory always looked inevitable, Alonso provided the late thrills with a dramatic battle with Perez in which he showed all the attacking fire and defensive skill of a double world champion.
The Spaniard crossed the finish line just 0.053 seconds ahead of the Mexican after Perez passed him on the penultimate lap and Alonso, the oldest man in the race at 42, grabbed the place back on the last circuit.
– With AAP
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