Autoblog

Last weekend's rain soaked European Grand Prix at Germany's Nurburgring saw many of the drivers aquaplaning out of control early on in the event. Rain started in just the second lap of the race and it had to be restarted by the fourth lap due to dangerous conditions. By the time the race restarted the rain had stopped and the track dried up quickly.

Fernando Alonso managed to take the top spot on a day where it seemed that anyone could win, but even he suffered a hitch during the closing laps as he tried to overtake Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who was in first place. Massa's front wheel grazed the side of Alonso's McLaren and this led to a heated argument between the two post-race.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was one of the drivers who slid off the track in the beginning, but he was given a lifeline when his car was lifted by crane back onto the track. A poor decision to switch to dry tires too early after the rain had stopped saw him spin out again. This left him out of contention of a podium finish, and at the end the rookie came at in 9th place.

The major disappointment was pole sitter Kimi Raikkonen being forced to retire because of mechanical problems with his Ferrari. This allowed the competent Mark Webber to cruise into the third spot to gain his first podium finish at Red Bull racing. Another disappointment were the BMW boys, with sixth placed Nick Heidfeld hitting the side of team-mate Robert Kubica and then doing the same again with Ralf Schumacher.

UPDATE: All video of the Kubica crash on YouTube has been removed at the request of F1. Click here to watch the crash recreated in 3D using CGI.


By all accounts, yesterday's Canadian Grand Prix was one of the most entertaining races in recent memory. Unfortunately for Lewis Hamilton, who took his first Formula One victory, his achievements driving for McLaren were overshadowed by the considerable amount of contact that took place between drivers and solid objects.

The most horrific crash could have easily taken the life of BMW driver Robert Kubica, who was coming into the hairpin at upwards of 180 MPH when he lost steering control and slammed, head-on, into one of the barriers. From there, he was punted across the track, missing a few of his competitors, hitting the adjacent wall and finally coming to rest on his side. Reports say that he came away with only a broken leg, although BMW had't confirmed that as of this writing, which judging by the video footage after the jump, speaks volumes about how far safety equipment has come in motorsport.

You can check out a video of the crash after the break, and click here for a brief rundown of yesterday's event.