Hulkenberg unhurt after horrifying opening lap crash

Nico Hulkenberg climbed out unhurt after barrel-rolling his Renault car into the barriers in a horrifying blazing opening lap crash in Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The German driver tangled with Frenchman Romain Grosjean's Haas as they fought for position going into the chicane, Hulkenberg resisting his rival's challenger for position.

His car was catapulted into the air and rolled at high speed into the barriers where, on impact, flames bust from the rear of the car, which was left hanging upside down.

"Are you ok, Nico," the team asked him.

"I'm hanging here like a cow," he told the Renault team by radio.

"There's fire...There's fire...Get me out." He was soon helped by marshals who had to manually roll the car off the barriers before assisting him in climbing out.

Hulkenberg was able to walk away and talk to marshals and medical staff.

Grosjean asked his Haas team if Hulkenberg was ok and, after being told he was, he added that he had nowhere to go when they crashed.

The race stewards quickly announced they were taking no action and treated the crash as a racing incident.