George Russell and Antonio Giovinazzi both came out without a scratch after a nasty crash at the Belgian Grand Prix almost saw a loose tyre strike the Brit's car.
Russell admitted to his engineers that he had 'nowhere else to go' as riding behind Giovinazzi he was met with a deluge of debris after the Alfa Romeo spun off into the barrier having lost grip on the Fagne chicane.
A safety car was produced on track while debris was cleared and every team was left relieved to see the two drivers escape without major injury in what was a potentially nasty collision.
George Russell had a split-second to react to avoid a loose tyre on track at the Belgian GP
Antonio Giovinazzi lost control at the Fagne chicane and caused Russell to hit the barriers
Safety Car ⚠️
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 30, 2020
Giovinazzi spins into the wall, and a stray wheel sends Russell into the barriers ��
Both drivers okay ��
�� Live on Sky Sports F1
�� Live on the App and Sky Go
�� Live Blog: https://t.co/CkqLNAZAQx#SkyF1 | #F1 | #BelgianGP ���� pic.twitter.com/Xyvxk6y0pD
Safety Car ⚠️
Giovinazzi spins into the wall, and a stray wheel sends Russell into the barriers ��
Both drivers okay ��
�� Live on Sky Sports F1
�� Live on the App and Sky Go
�� Live Blog: https://t.co/CkqLNAZAQx#SkyF1 | #F1 | #BelgianGP ���� pic.twitter.com/Xyvxk6y0pD
Russell came down the straight and was forced to swerve left in a bid to minimise the impact of Giovinazzi's loose tyre.
The bouncing wheel struck Russell's front right before the Williams driver turned into the barrier to signal the end of his race with irreparable damage.
Due to the sheer amount of debris on track it was expected that there would be a red flag - which would have stopped the race temporarily - but in the end race control opted for a yellow flag with a safety car backing up the field.
Giovinazzi lost control on the curb of the Fagne chicane and spiralled off into the barriers
That saw Giovinazzi's tyre dangerously fly off and in the direction of an approaching Russell
Russell was later seen standing in the Williams garage unscathed as he was praised for his quick reactions to the loose tyre.
He was running P16 at the time of the crash but the immediate focus was on his safety.
It was the fault of Giovinazzi, getting too keen on the accelerator entering the chicane, and Russell won the public sympathy having been left with no option but to swerve into the barrier to avoid an even nastier accident.
