The British driver was following behind the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, attempting to close up on fresher tyres on the final lap of the race.
However, Alonso appeared to brake earlier into the corner, catching Russell off guard and sending him spinning into the gravel trap before bouncing back onto the track and tipping over.
“Red flag, red flag, red flag,” he begged on the team radio. “I’m in the middle of the track. Red flag, red flag! Red, red, red, red, red. I’m in the middle. Red! F***ing hell.”
However, rather than obeying Russell’s demands and bringing out the red flag, the stewards opted to call upon the virtual safety car, allowing the nearby cars to crawl past his stricken W15 for a final tour of the Albert Park circuit.
Giving his thoughts on the incident with Alonso, Russell told Sky Sports F1: “My take is I’ve gone off and that’s on me. I was half a second behind Fernando 100m before the corner then suddenly he came towards me extremely quick and I was right on his gearbox. I don’t know if he had a problem or not.
“He’s off to the stewards and that’s a bit bizarre in a circumstance like this. I’ve got nothing more to say right now. I need to see everything, just disappointed to end the race like that.
“It’s clear he braked 100m before the corner and was back on the throttle again and took the corner normally. We’ve already seen the data of that.”
MORE TO FOLLOW
We’ll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.
For the latest news and breaking news visit: /sport/football . Stay up to date with all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.
Follow us on Twitter @dexpress_sport – the official Daily Express & Express.co.uk Twitter account – providing real news in real time.
We’re also on Facebook @dailyexpresssport – offering your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day to like, comment and share from the Daily Express, Sunday Express and Express.co.uk.
