The FIA has launched an investigation into Fernando Alonso's spectacular Melbourne crash, with insiders saying that the Spaniard was lucky to survive.
Reports including one in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reveal that the governing body's probe follows revelations Alonso's seat was actually broken as his McLaren-Honda flipped through the Albert Park gravel.
It is claimed that Alonso's carbo-fibre seat broke at around shoulder height due to forces exceeding 46G, triggering the investigation as the FIA aims to learn from the accident for the future.
The report said that the all-new rearwards-facing, ultra slow-motion camera that was made mandatory in 2016 will be fundamental to the study.