F1: Top 5 crashes at the Singapore Grand Prix

The Singapore Grand Prix makes its return to the F1 calendar this weekend with the Championship tilting in favour of Lewis Hamilton. The Brit is 30 points clear of his closest rival Sebastian Vettel though it may be argued that Vettel has a faster car in the form of his Ferrari.

Speaking of the Prancing Horse, it's been a lively week for the team after it was officially revealed that the Italian giants would be doing away with veteran driver Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the season in favour of the much younger Charles Leclerc. Raikkonen will instead take Leclerc's place at Sauber next season, reuniting with his former employers after a 17-year hiatus.

Back to this weekend's action though, and Singapore promises to be a thrilling watch for those in attendance and the millions watching at home. The track has given us plenty of memories in just a decade, and hopes are that this weekend will be just as exciting.

The first ever night race was held here in 2008 and under the lights, drivers have found it difficult to maneuver the way they would ideally want to. This has led to numerous accidents at the Marina Bay circuit, none more so than at the notorious 'Singapore Sling' turn. Reliving some of those crashes, here are our top 5:

#5 Nico Hulkenberg crashes out on first lap (2016)

The 2016 Singapore GP got off to a flier under the lights and it wasn't long before the first casualty of the race took place.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg tried to bag a few places at the very start of the race but instead found himself sandwiched between the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz. Hulkenberg almost inevitably collided with Sainz and went straight into the wall.

This first lap melee caused a safety car deployment but bizarrely enough, the race restarted with a marshal still out on track. This situation was soon dealt with but it made for some nervous viewing at the time.

#4 Michael Schumacher's costly error (2011)

Fans in attendance during the Singapore GP in 2011 were expecting a masterclass from a returning king in the form of Michael Schumacher in this particular race, but instead were forced to witness the dirty side of the German's game, and perhaps the harsh reality that age was catching up to the seven-time champion.

Schumi was hot on the heels of Sergio Perez for eighth spot but clearly misjudged the exact point at which the Mexican driver was, and instead rammed into Perez and flew off into the protection wall ahead. The German even received a reprimand for his dangerous driving and had fans scratching their heads wondering what had just happened.

#3 Kamui Kobayashi goes flying (2011)

Kamui Kobayashi may be remembered most for his wild driving at times and it isn't an exaggeration to say that the Japanese driver loved life on the edge. One such time that he went a little too far was during qualifying at the Singapore GP in 2011.

Kobayashi was clearly pushing hard for a top ten finish and fell to the notorious 'Singapore Sling' chicane on turn 10 where he rapidly ran over the kerbs and proceeded to take flight briefly. When he came back down, he found himself unable to stop his Sauber from crashing into the wall.

#2 Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen crash (2017)

Raikkonen, Vettel and Verstappen all retired — Raikkonen, Vettel, and Verstappen all retired

The most recent Singapore GP provided a lasting memory of its own on the very first lap after an incident involving the two Ferraris and Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

What started as a brilliant take off from Raikkonen ended in horror after the two scarlet cars sandwiched the Red Bull of Verstappen between them. This led to contact between Kimi and Max, resulting in the duo losing control.

Raikkonen proceeded to make contact with his teammate Vettel and pretty much ended his hopes of turning a pole position into a victory. What's worse, Lewis Hamilton took advantage and drove a near-perfect race to the chequered flag.

#1 Nelson Piquet's controversial 'crash' (2008)

Arguably one of F1's most infamous incidents took place in the inaugural Singapore GP in 2008 when Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr. lost control of his vehicle and rammed it into the nearest wall.

What seemed like an error in judgement at the time, became a huge controversy later on after Piquet himself revealed that he had been ordered to crash at the behest of his managing director and executive director of engineering so that his partner Fernando Alonso could manipulate the safety car deployment to gain an advantage.

Alonso won the race, but the technical duo was heavily reprimanded after being found guilty.

Edited by Prathik R