INCREDIBLE HULK UNDER FIRE
FERNANDO ALONSO spun out of Formula One last night while Nico Hulkenberg was lucky to walk away after his car caught fire.
Retiring double world champion Alonso performed tyre-smoking doughnuts on the pit straight after the race with Abu Dhabi winner Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
But the day will be remembered for Hulkenberg’s opening-lap crash, which saw him somersault through the air after a collision with Romain Grosjean before landing the wrong way up against the barriers. Flames briefly billowed from the back of his Renault with him unable to get out.
Over the radio the panicked driver said: “I’m hanging like a cow. Get me out. There is fire, there is fire.”
Safety marshals dashed to the scene before the flames went out and, after more than three minutes, flipped the car back on to four wheels to get Hulkenberg out.
The German, who was unharmed, said: “It was not the most comfortable situation to be in. There was a little barbecue at the back so I just wanted to get out. You feel pretty helpless.”
Hamilton’s win made him the first driver to break the 400-point barrier and the Mercedes man celebrated by stripping on the podium, pointing to the “Still I Rise” tattoo on his back.
Vettel finished second in his Ferrari with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third as Alonso’s McLaren crossed 11th.
His race engineer had urged him over the radio in the final stages to go all out for a final point only for him to fire back: “I have 1800 points.”