If you are a racer of any sort, you know that one tiny moment can lead to something much, much bigger if you aren’t careful. Even at about 50 mph, one of those moments happened on Saturday as a scary crash somehow didn’t turn into anything more serious.
Formula One driver Pascal Wehrlein was one of 20 drivers in the Race of Champions, an event that pits many of the best racers from various forms of racing around the globe against one another individually and in two-driver teams by country, in a series of match races. The event, which was taking place in Marlins Park in Miami is supposed to be a fun event that has a side of competitiveness to determine who is actually the best race car driver in the world.
Fellow F1 driver Felipe Massa had just defeated Wehrlein in a race where it saw both competitors in Polaris Slingshot three-wheelers. Heading toward the finish, Wehrlein clipped a barrier and then ran into Massa, causing Wehrlein to flip his vehicle.
The scariest part?
Both Massa and Wehrlein had fans in the passenger seats with them. And after seeing how close the car came to going into the dugout and the stands, it sure was a scary experience.
In such an unexpected environment, these two experienced racers were visibly worried for one another’s safety. You can see Massa leaving the vehicle in a hurry to check on Wehrlein.
When Wehrlein was asked if he was shaken up after the crash, his response was surprisingly calm, “No, I wasn’t shaken, the speed is not too fast. At the end it’s still a shock, but the most important thing is we’re both okay in the car and that’s the most important thing.”
After being in a car accident a couple of months back, I’m still trying to recover. How someone can shake off a crash like that so quickly is amazing. To race at the top level though you have to have a short memory, even when it’s as scary as this.
