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The 2018 Formula One season is done and dusted with Lewis Hamilton claiming his fifth drivers' championship. During the course of the campaign, fans witnessed some truly spectacular racing action, covering splendid overtakes, close calls, and brilliant flying laps.
However, big crashes are part of a sport that revolves around such speed, and the 2018 Formula One season was no exception. It witnessed quite a few extraordinary crashes over the 21 races that spanned across the globe.
Let us look closer at the seven biggest crashes of the 2018 Formula One season.
#7 Romain Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly - Spain
During the opening stages of the Spanish Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean spun off the track but didn't take his foot off the accelerator causing him to return back onto the oncoming traffic, which caused a three-car pile-up involving Grosjean, Hulkenberg and Gasly. Renault's Hulkenberg was clearly upset with the Frenchman's move and expressed his displeasure after the race.
Interestingly, Grosjean spun during every session of the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix.
This crash ensured that the Frenchman received a three-place grid penalty for the following Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco.
#6 Valtteri Bottas - Australia
The qualifying round at the opening Grand Prix of the 2018 Formula One season is something Valtteri Bottas would not want to remember for a very long time. The Finnish driver, during his flying lap in Q3, lost control of the car after exiting a corner and crashed into the barriers.
Mercedes' chief Toto Wolff later added that the impact measured almost 27G, rendering the machine's gearbox useless.
That accident forced Bottas to start the race from the fifteenth place on the grid, which included a five-place grid penalty.
#5 Charles Leclerc and Brendon Hartley - Monaco
The final stages of the Monaco Grand Prix witnessed a high-speed crash between Charles Leclerc and Brendon Hartley. The Monegasque driver suffered a brake failure right after exiting the famous tunnel and plunged into the back of the Toro Rosso's machine, forcing the immediate retirement of both Leclerc and Hartley.
Both the drivers escaped the incident unhurt, and Leclerc avoided a penalty as it was a genuine mechanical failure.
#4 Brendon Hartley - Britain
Brendon Hartley was involved in numerous crashes during the 2018 Formula One season, and this particular high-speed crash during FP3 at the Silverstone Circuit was his biggest of the season.
A left-front suspension failure on the Toro Rosso machine, while the New Zealander was speeding on the Wellington Straight, forced him to crash into the barriers at a very high speed, which also resulted in him not participating the qualifying session.
Brendon Hartley escaped unhurt while Toro Rosso changed the entire suspension setup of his teammate Pierre Gasly's machine before the start of the qualifying session.
#3 Nico Hulkenberg - Abu Dhabi
The opening lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix witnessed high-profile drama as a contact between Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean caused the former to hit the barrier walls after completing multiple barrel rolls.
Unfortunately, the German driver was also present in the inverted car when the rear of his Renault caught fire for a short duration of time.
Nico Hulkenberg escaped the incident unhurt.
#2 The Pile-up - Belgium
The pile-up involving Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg happened on the opening lap of the 2018 Belgium Grand Prix at the Spa Francorchamps circuit.
The German driver in the Renault machine plunged into the back of Alonso, who lost control and flew over the top of Charles Leclerc's Sauber, resulting in the effective retirement of all the drivers.
Thankfully, all the drivers were unhurt, and it was later established that the presence of Halo Cockpit was crucial in reducing the damage taken the by Sauber driver.
#1 Marcus Ericsson - Italy
Marcus Ericsson's high-speed collision at the practise session of the Italian Grand Prix was one of the scariest moments of the 2018 Formula One season.
A DRS failure while braking on the main straight made the Danish driver lose control of his car and crash violently into the barrier, which resulted in multiple rolls before finally coming to a halt in a wrecked car.
Marcus Ericsson confirmed on the radio that he was safe and escaped the horrific incident unhurt.
