Safety car involved in major accident at Monza
With the Grand Prix weekend still to get underway, the first incident has already occurred. The safety car, driven by Bernd Mayländer, was involved in an accident in the Parabolic on Thursday, triggering the first red flag of the weekend. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Even before the 20 cars hit the track this Friday, an incident had already occurred on Thursday, making the Monza Grand Prix a high-tension race.
As is usually the case on Thursdays, medical and safety cars perform a reconnaissance tour of the circuit to test the timing systems for the upcoming weekend and to provide a first look at potential track modifications. This is particularly relevant this weekend, as the Monza circuit has undergone resurfacing, with corners modified to offer better grip for the single-seaters.
These reconnaissance laps also allow fans to see the first cars driving before the official Friday sessions. However, this time, they witnessed a tragedy, as the safety car was involved in an accident during its reconnaissance lap.
His brakes where COOKED https://t.co/4P5vxkWNXI pic.twitter.com/8nfC2ie5cT
— Jarno Opmeer (@jarno_opmeer) August 29, 2024
In the Parabolica (also known as the Curva Alboreto), the last corner of the Monza circuit, the Aston Martin Safety Car, the Vantage F1 Edition, lost control, crossed the new asphalt of the track, and crashed into the TecPro barriers, forcing the Formula 1 officials to raise the red flag to allow the driver Bernd Mayländer, who has been in the role since 2000, and his co-driver to get out of the car. So far, no information has been given about the reasons for this incident.
« An incident occurred on the track with the FIA safety car today at Monza, said the federation. « Aston Martin is investigating the causes of the incident, but we can confirm that the driver and passenger are fine. An additional safety car is present on the circuit and this will not impact the race weekend. »
This strange incident is reminiscent of the one involving Alex Ribeiro, who crashed into the barriers with the Medical Car at the Bureau de Tabac in Monaco in 2000 during a Saturday morning test. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the other car present, the medical car, was able to continue its reconnaissance laps. Despite this setback, the Grand Prix will take place as scheduled, with the single-seaters hitting the track this Friday, followed by qualifying on Saturday and the traditional race on Sunday.
