#2 Mark Webber
An airborne car doing a somersault at high speeds is a common sight in a movie. But it certainly is anything but common on an F1 track. At the 2010 European Grand Prix at Valencia, things were routine until something unnatural occurred on the ninth lap. Travelling at 190mph and tailing Heikki Kovalainen, down the straight, Webber was looking to pass the Lotus driver going into a tight right-hander. Kovalainen appeared to break sharply and with under a second to react, the Aussie drove straight into the rear of the Lotus car. Such was the speed on impact that the nose of the Red Bull rose and the entire car did a back flip and landed upside down pinning Webber under the car. The car then skidded across the tarmac and crashed into the tyre laden side barriers.
While it seemed impossible for a driver to not be crushed under his car upon impact, Webber emerged unscathed from the mangled wreck of his car. While reflecting on the accident Webber admitted to being fortunate and said, “Obviously you get a bit concerned when that happens”. Weber would continue to race through the rest of the 2010 season and finished third in the driver’s championship.
