Not if, but when?

[Mike Rotch]

As vat_man says, its not when a big accident sneaks up on a driver but when. Here is a list of those IT has happened to, and those still it has to happen to.

Michael = Silverstone 1998 (?), Spa 1999(?)
Rubens = Imola (1994)
Ralf = Monza recently (2003)
Firman = Hungary (2003)
Alonso = Brazil (2003)
Weber = Brazil (2003)
Trulli = Montreal 1998 (?)
JV = Australia (when he hit the wall with his undertray and a marshall died) (2002)
Heidfeld = Austria (2002)
Jos = Hockemheim fire
Button = Monaco (2003)


those still waiting

Montoya
Raikers
DC
Fisi
Panis
Frentzen


maybe frenzen can retire before he cops it?

 

[vat_man]

I think you missed a couple of Jacques' monumentals at Spa. Also, Panis broke his legs at Canada in 1997.

 

[millencolin]

you also forgot damatta and wilson

has da matta had any big shunts in champcars? i cant think of one

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Montoya had a big one in testing earlier in the year, managing to go off at Becketts (Silverstone) at 180mph, and go under the tyre barrier.

Raikkonen had a fairly large one in practice at Australia this year, although that wasn't too bad I suppose.

Your years are the wrong way round on the Michael shunts.

DC had a fairly sizeable one at Spa in 1998 given that he caused the startline crash there!

 

[Mike Rotch]

Blast! I must be loosing the few marbles i have left out my ears.

montoya - true about silverstone, i forgot about that
I mixed up trulli and panis
My bad re schumie dates
I knew i forgot someone (wilson + damatta) 4x
DC's one doesnt count - im talking seriously highspeed stuff here

 

[Roo]

Michael went backwards into the wall at Spa in 1996, and had a huge shunt at Adilede in 1994. He also hit the "Champions Wall" at Montreal in 1999.
JV crashed at Eau Rouge in 1998 and 1999.
Trulli had a fairly big one at Canada in 1999.
Raikkonen had a suspension failure at Suzuka when he drove for Sauber, which wasn't of 98 Spa proportions but he hit the wall pretty hard.
Fisi hit Nakano at Spa 98, if that counts; it was very spectacular, if not very big (he lost his front wheels and the left side of the car.)

 

[kristof]

Raikonnens crash at the German GP wasn't exactly small. You missed out Ralf Schumacher crashing and a suspension strut puncturing his leg! It wasn't spectacular but i bet he rates it up there! Also i recall Frentzen winning the Canadian GP in 98(?) with a fracured leg so i guess he had a fairly big accident the race before!

Also I think DC could count Schumacher hitting him in the rear at Spa as a big wreck!

 

[Matrixhasu77]

Don't forget Ruben's suspension failure at the Hungraring(sp?). That was a fairly sizable hit, IMO.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Originally posted by kristof
Raikonnens crash at the German GP wasn't exactly small. You missed out Ralf Schumacher crashing and a suspension strut puncturing his leg! It wasn't spectacular but i bet he rates it up there! Also i recall Frentzen winning the Canadian GP in 98(?) with a fracured leg so i guess he had a fairly big accident the race before!

Also I think DC could count Schumacher hitting him in the rear at Spa as a big wreck!

yea, forgot about ralf at Monaco

I remember DC's "incident" at Spa. Cost schumie the championship, but i dont think it was that bad for DC, after all he just went into the pits and put on a new rear wing.

 

[Roo]

Yeah, four laps down. Behind a Minardi. He finished 8th. Useful. I have the video; he couldn't get more out the way without driving on the grass. Approaching the outside of the next corner to let Michael past.

Fisi crashed at Estoril corner during practice in Magny-Cous in 2002 and couldn't participate in the race.

 

[vat_man]

Originally posted by Roo
Michael went backwards into the wall at Spa in 1996, and had a huge shunt at Adelaide in 1994. He also hit the "Champions Wall" at Montreal in 1999.

I actually saw the Schumacher shunt at Adelaide in '94 (right at the end of qualifying on Saturday, if I remember correctly). It was at the first chicane - looked a lot worse than it was. He didn't get into the barriers particularly heavily.

Found a video of it here.

Also, the Schumacher-Coulthard incident is here.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Originally posted by vat_man
I actually saw the Schumacher shunt at Adelaide in '94 (right at the end of qualifying on Saturday, if I remember correctly). It was at the first chicane - looked a lot worse than it was. He didn't get into the barriers particularly heavily.

Found a video of it here.

Also, the Schumacher-Coulthard incident is here.

Dont have the right codecs

If you're looking for a point where i stopped liking DC, there it is...

 

[vat_man]

Originally posted by Mike Rotch
Dont have the right codecs

If you're looking for a point where i stopped liking DC, there it is...

Yeah? I thought Michael completely over-reacted to that incident. Coulthard never moved - maybe he shouldn't have been on the line, but Schumacher knew full well here was there - you even see him jink out and then back in. I thought Coulthard was in real 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' territory there,

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Originally posted by vat_man
Yeah? I thought Michael completely over-reacted to that incident. Coulthard never moved - maybe he shouldn't have been on the line, but Schumacher knew full well here was there - you even see him jink out and then back in. I thought Coulthard was in real 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' territory there,

Interestingly, both drivers have recently retracted their long-held positions on that incident. DC recently said "yeah, I lifted off the throttle" in a press conference before the German GP this year, and MS said "it probably was my fault" in his book.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Originally posted by vat_man
Yeah? I thought Michael completely over-reacted to that incident. Coulthard never moved - maybe he shouldn't have been on the line, but Schumacher knew full well here was there - you even see him jink out and then back in. I thought Coulthard was in real 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' territory there,

well this is how i see it

a) DC was on the racing line in poor visibility conditions

b) he lifted off the throttle without warning, in poor visibility, on the racing line. Lifting off the throttle in a GP car is equivalent to braking.

DC is an old chop

 

[kristof]

Not a current driver but Martin Brundle had a big shunt at Adelaide in a Jordan in 96?

 

[vat_man]

Originally posted by kristof
Not a current driver but Martin Brundle had a big shunt at Adelaide in a Jordan in 96?

That was in Melbourne, in the same place Villenueve and Ralf had their big one (where the marshall was killed) in 2001. The Jordan broke in half - the only injury Brundle sustained was a broken bone in his foot running up pitlane to get in the spare car!

I love that shot - it looks like he's still steering!

 

[GilesGuthrie]

When you hear Brundle commentating, it's really clear that he remembers the pain of that one!