Logan Sargeant jumped out of his burning car after a heavy crash in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix.
The American lost control of his Williams in wet conditions on the exit of the banked Turn 3. It hit the barriers hard before spinning 270 degrees, his right rear wheel becoming detached as the drama unfolded.
The rear of his car then went up in powerful orange flames.
A concerned George Russell pulled alongside the 23-year-old Sargeant and gestured to him to scramble out of the cockpit.
Shaken by the high-impact smash, Sargeant climbed out under instruction from his Williams pit wall. ‘The car is on fire,’ he was told by his race engineer Gaeto Jago. ‘Jump out. The car is on fire.’
The driver slumped over the barrier beyond the grass verge as fire marshals rushed to the scene, if a little belatedly.
A red flag was waved as Sargeant went to the medical center for precautionary checks while his crumpled car was taken away by a lorry.
There seems no chance of repairs being carried out in time for qualifying this afternoon (2 pm BST).
Marshals attended to the broken barrier to get the third practice session back underway. Lewis Hamilton had yet to complete a lap by the time.
A Williams spokesman confirmed: ‘Logan has been to the medical center and is all clear.’
The session was suspended for 41 minutes.
