Everyone loves a crash in Formula 1, but before the days of carbon fibre chassis and gravel run off areas, crashes claimed the lives of some of the worlds’ greatest drivers, including Gilles Villeneuve, Aryton Senna and Jim Clark.
It’s a tribute to the strength of the cars today that the drivers in these videos almost without exception got up and walked away, I’ve trawled the net to gather together five of the most spectacular crashes from recent years.
Mark Webber’s flip in Valencia 2010
Apologies for the lack of sound , but this video show Mark Webber’s famous flip right from the start. He comes up behind Heikki Kovalainen,clips his back wheel and literally cartwheels over the top of him, he then skids on his back down the straight and into the gravel trap. This is a crash that could have so easily been fatal.
The world famous spa 1998 crash
This incident began after the first corner of a soaking wet spa in September 1998, cars were travelling at relatively low speeds because of the weather and although millions of pounds worth of damage was done, as over almost half the field slid to a halt simultaneously, there were no injuries .
Which is what makes it a crash you can watch over and over again, unfortunately the footage was filmed off a TV which isn’t great, but anyone who watched it live will remember what a spectacle is was. The Dutch commentary is also quite amusing !
Nico Rosberg Monaco 2008
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This is the on board footage From Rosberg’s Williams, the German clips the kerb coming out of the Monaco tunnel sending him into the right hand wall, he then bounces across to the left hand wall and back to the right hand side again, his car disintegrating all the while.
Monza 2000 crash
Fantastic original footage, crystal clear video and sound as well as shots from Reverse and alternative angles.This video shows the carnage at Monza in all it’s glory, the shot of the Jordan flying towards the camera is a particular favourite of mine,
Tragically a racing Marshall Paolo Ghislimberti passed away during this incident( after being hit by a loose wheel).The first death in Formula 1 since Ayrton Senna in 1994 . The Jordan’s of Giancarlo fischella and Heinz Harold fFrenzen come together which starts the crash, a blizzard of carbon fibre and steam erupts just behind the leaders.
Kubica Canada 2007
This footage shows Kubica’s crash in 3D ,which I found particularly insightful. This footage ( below) from Germany shows the full force of the crash, it’s quite something.
He loses control very early on in the approach to the Virage du Casino hairpin. After tapping a Toyota during entry he was then nudged of the track, taking off and smashing into the wall at full speed, slewing back across the track nearly hitting the Toro Rosso of Scott Speed and slamming into the opposite barrier.
While going across the track he also turned upside down. By the time it was stationary the car was barely recognisable . What’s more incredible is that Kubica walked away from the incident with only a sprained ankle and mild concussion.
Front of the Grid was created by Freelance Journalist Chris Allen. it aims to provide cutting edge news and opinion on the latest and greats issues in Formula 1 