F1 champion Max Verstappen hails 'unbelievable' driver for saving rival star's life

F1 champion Max Verstappen has praised the "unbelievable" Loek Hartog for saving the life of a rival driver.

The 23-year-old Hartog displayed the most heroic of actions on Saturday after a horrific crash in the ChinaGT Championship at the Shanghai International Circuit.

The incident resulted in British star Ollie Millroy's car bursting into flames, terrifyingly with no marshals or medical personnel in the close vicinity.

Young Dutchman Hartog immediately recognised the mortal danger, parked his car up and sprinted over to the fiery wreck, frantically tearing at the car in an effort to extricate the British driver before grabbing a fire extinguisher.

Hartog was able to calm the flames long enough to approach the driver's side door and drag Millroy's body out of the fire and out of danger.

Track personnel then arrived with fire extinguishers of their own and started spraying down the car, well over a minute after the crash.

Millroy suffered five broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken hand and finger and a bruised lung in the crash. But Hartog's brave and selfless actions almost certainly saved his life.

READ MORE: Verstappen claims broken Italian GP track nearly put him out of the race

Verstappen astonished by 'really beautiful moment'

The footage of the incident made global headlines, and another Dutch superstar in four-time F1 king Verstappen was astonished by what he had seen.

The 28-year-old Red Bull superstar, speaking at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, said: “It was unbelievable, he did an amazing job.

"I have huge respect for that. I think he wouldn't have made it through without him. It was really a beautiful moment.”

Millroy tells Hartog 'you saved my life'

The 36-year-old British star Millroy, despite his injuries, was later able to make an emotional post thanking Hartog for the 'incredible act of bravery' which may very well have saved his life.

"I am still alive tonight," he wrote, "entirely thanks to one man. Loek Hartog stopped instantly with no flag marshalls or fire crews in sight, and risked his own life to get me out of the car.

"I don’t remember anything between 30 seconds before the crash and 1 hour after it, but I will remember his incredible act of bravery for the rest of my life. One day I will tell our three kids this story and Loek will be the biggest superhero in history in their eyes too.

"Thank you Loek. I owe you my life for your selfless act today.

Hartog modest after heroic actions

Hartog himself was modest in the wake of hundreds of fans calling him a hero for his actions, writing later on his own social media channels: "When I saw a car engulfed in a huge ball of fire in front of me, there wasn’t really a decision to be made.

"From what I could see, I naturally assumed the driver couldn’t get out on his own, so I stopped, got out and went over to the car. I never had any doubts."

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