There was a scary situation during Sunday’s Formula One Monaco Grand Prix when a car rode up on another car’s wheels and ended up tipped on its side up against the barrier.
Formula One car flips on side in bizarre crash during Monaco Grand Prix
You don’t see this too often in Formula One!
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images
The car, belonging to Pascal Wehrlein of Sauber, could only be seen from the bottom, with the driver’s head up against the barrier. It took nearly half a minute for the TV broadcast to even confirm which car it was because it was so perfectly tipped sideways.
Given the F1 uses an open cockpit, the obvious concern was for a head injury to the driver. Fortunately, Wehrlein came over team radio and said that he was OK, and crews eventually got the car turned over and the driver removed.
Jenson Button of McLaren was the cause of the crash. Button tried to cut the inside of the turn while trailing Wehrlein and caused Wehrlein to ride up on his tire, resulting in the weird-looking flip. F1 cars have so much downforce and so much grip, that you don’t often see cars leave the ground.
Button retired at the end of last season but is racing in Monaco while teammate Fernando Alonso races in the Indianapolis 500.
Both Wehrlein and Button suffered terminal damage to their cars. Monaco is one of the narrowest courses on the F1 calendar and the most difficult to overtake on.
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