On Thursday, Formula One’s safety car collided with the barriers at Monza’s final Parabolica turn.
As with every Grand Prix weekend, the safety car performs a series of system checks by circling the course numerous times. Quick laps are also done.
In an ironic twist, Bernd Maylander did not complete his customary run, instead hitting the tyre barriers on a high-speed lap.
Following the crash, the Aston Martin sustained considerable front-end damage, but Maylander and his passenger were unharmed. The medical car picked up the couple and drove them the short distance to the pit lane.
The FIA stated that the incident will not disrupt the Italian Grand Prix weekend because a spare safety car was available.
“There was an on-track incident with the FIA safety car today at Monza,” the statement read. “Aston Martin is investigating the cause, but we can affirm that both the driver and the passenger are safe. There is an extra safety car at the circuit, but it will not affect the weekend’s race.”
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Since 2021, the safety car duties have been split between an Aston Martin Vantage and a Mercedes-Benz AMG GT.
Accidents involving the safety car and medical cars are extremely infrequent. Perhaps the most dramatic occurred during practice for the 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix, when Nick Heidfeld crashed his Sauber into the open door of the medical car that had been parked to attend to Enrique Bernoldi’s Arrows, which had crashed just before.
Max Verstappen begins practice at Monza on Friday, looking to win for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix and expand his 70-point lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris.
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