Fernando Alonso was lucky to avoid major injury after being involved in a huge crash that saw his car launched into the air at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday.<br /><br />The Spaniard hit the back of Lance Stroll midway through the race in Austin, Texas, and saw his Alpine fly up and over the left-rear wheels of his rival.<br /><br />A scary situation then unfolded as Alonso, 41, flew towards the barrier with both of his front wheels in the air, trying in vain to steer away from the barriers.<br /><br />It was the end of the race for Stroll in his Aston Martin, while somehow Alonso managed to limp his way back to the pits to repair his car.<br /><br />While it appeared immediately that a red flag would be waved, marshals were able to get onto the track and clear both Stroll's car and the debris without stopping the race.<br /><br />The incident came as a huge shock to the hundreds of thousands of fans in attendance in Austin, Texas on Sunday, who had turned up in their droves to post a record crowd.<br /><br />Over the three days of practice, qualifying and the race, 440,000 descended on the Circuit of the Americas as F1's popularity continues to skyrocket in the USA.<br /><br />There was also drama earlier in the race when pole-sitter Carlos Sainz was spun off the track on the very first corner, plummeting him from first to last in seconds.<br /><br />He was forced to retire from the race, handing world champion Max Verstappen the lead ahead of rival Lewis Hamilton.
