‘Car-killer’! Rookie Arvid Lindblad crashes as George Russell brands new Madrid F1 circuit the ‘riskiest’ on the calendar
Championship leader Antonelli saw off Charles Leclerc by 0.113 seconds, with the latter half a tenth clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the other Ferrari.
George Russell was left trailing Kimi Antonelli in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix – as British rookie Arvid Lindblad crashed out at Formula One’s new “risky” and “car-killer” venue in Madrid.
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Championship leader Antonelli saw off Charles Leclerc by 0.113 seconds, with the latter half a tenth clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the other Ferrari. Lindblad recorded the fourth best time, a place ahead of Russell, before he became the circuit’s first big victim.
Lindblad, 19, lost control of his Racing Bulls through the long left-hander at Turn 13. He slammed into the barrier and sustained significant damage to his car.
“I am sorry, everyone,” he said over the radio. “I am glad you are OK,” replied his relieved race engineer, Pierre Hamelin.
Lindblad’s accident arrived after a number of drivers expressed their fears that the Madring street circuit – with its imposing concrete walls and high-speed corners – would lead to a series of accidents.
Russell described it as the “riskiest” on the Formula One calendar and Max Verstappen, rightly it proved, predicted it would be a “car killer”.
Lindblad's F1 crash comes after F2 Driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak slammed into Turn 19 during the F2 Free Practice session, with his car bursting into flames. The Thai driver escaped the vehicle without injury.
Russell’s British media session inside Mercedes’ hospitality suite on Friday morning coincided with Formula Two driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak’s car bursting into flames after the Thai crashed at turn 19. Inthraphuvasak, 20, escaped without injury after leaping out of his burning car.
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“Oh wow,” said Russell as he watched the grisly scene unfold on the TV. “This circuit is mental.
“There is less margin here than Monaco. Purely because of the speed. In Monaco, the walls are closer but because you’re going a lot slower, if you make a mistake, you’re not into the wall as quickly. Here, there’s less margin.”
Russell was asked what bearing Inthraphuvasak’s fiery accident has on his psyche as a driver.
“I don’t think too much to be honest,” he replied as fire marshals extinguished the flames on Inthraphuvasak’s wrecked machine.
“I’m sure my mother worries more than I do when she sees any crash. But for me, I’m content with whatever happens. This is part of the risk. You can hurt yourself doing anything.
“I was playing with my three-year-old nephew, who was on a quad, and I was on an electric bike racing him through the garden.
“I was next to him, and he looked at me, and as he looked, he turned, and he’s wiped me out. He’s gone barrel-rolling on the quad. I’ve gone barrel-rolling on the electric bike. That was the one that hurt the most!”
Russell’s World Championship hopes were dealt a setback at the previous round in Monza a week ago after he saw Antonelli win from 19th on the grid in identical Mercedes machinery.
Here, he admitted that he now needs luck on his side to stop Antonelli from winning the championship. The Italian has won seven times so far, while Russell has just two victories.
Russell topped the first running but Antonelli’s advantage later in the day – 0.337 seconds – could leave the Brit with a sinking feeling heading into the rest of the weekend on the sport’s return to the Spanish capital after a 45-year hiatus.