Haas driver Oliver Bearman limped away from a big crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Bearman spun out and collided with the barriers at the Spoon hairpin after losing control of his car while closing up behind Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
The impact with the barriers measured at 50G.
Haas boss Aayo Komatsu told Sky Sports that Bearman had gone to the circuit medical centre for a check-up after the crash.
The team confirmed after an X-ray Bearman had avoided any bone fractures, but had suffered a right knee contusion.
TV replays showed the English driver limping away from his car and then sitting down by the barrier.
At one point he was being helped to walk by two trackside marshals.
Team boss Komatsu said on Sky Sports during the broadcast: “He just had a huge closing speed against Colapinto so he had to take avoiding action and he went on the grass and crashed, so yeah, scary.”
When asked if Colapinto had moved late as Bearman approached, he said: “No, the main thing is just the closing speed I think, which was huge.”
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Bearman’s crash triggered a mid-race safety car period.
“First of all, everything is fine and I’m good,” Bearman said. “It was a scary moment out there but everything is okay, which is the main thing.
“The adrenaline is wearing off a bit so it’s going to be a long trip home, but I’m absolutely fine.”
“The car is a bit worse for wear. I can only apologise to the team because it’s a lot of work.”
“There was a massive overspeed — around 50kph — which is a part of these new regulations and we have to get used to it, but also I felt like I wasn’t given much space, given the huge excess speed I was carrying. We need to be a bit more lenient and a bit more prepared, as unfortunately this was the result of a massive delta speed which we’ve not seen in Formula One before.”
“It could have been a lot worse,” Komatsu said after the race. “I am just glad he did not break anything.
“We have been talking about closing speeds, and this accident has now happened so we cannot ignore it. Safety should always be top of the list.”
Information from the Press Association contributed to this report.
