Irvine Thankful Burti is Okay

Eddie Irvine was a relieved man on Sunday evening as he received news that Prost driver Luciano Burti appears to be okay after a horrifying accident in the Belgian Grand Prix.

Irvine's Jaguar and the Prost of Burti made contact on their fourth lap of the race before Burti ploughed into a tyre wall at around 160 miles per hour.

Irvine also wrecked his car on impact with the barriers but he got out unscathed, while Burti was buried under the tyres. Irvine helped get the Brazilian driver out and despite early fears that he had died he was later diagnosed as having concussion and no broken bones.

"He hit the wall very hard indeed and I'm glad he's okay," said Irvine. "The head and neck restraint system played a key role in saving Luciano from serious injury. I was the first on the scene and his head was literally pushed over to one side with the weight of the tyres...I'm just thankful that Luciano is okay."

Irvine was clearly shaken by the incident and did not re-start the race after it had been red-flagged due to the crash. Jaguar's day then got worse after the re-start, the second of the day, as Irvine's teammate Pedro de la Rosa connected with the Sauber of Nick Heidfeld on the first lap after the re-start and he was forced out.

"What a terrible end to what could have been a points-scoring race for us," said De la Rosa. "I got a relatively good start and as I was going into La Source, I noticed Nick Heidfeld's Sauber coming up on the inside. He obviously misjudged the situation and hit me."

De la Rosa was forced to retire in the pits with a puncture and damage to his rear suspension.