The 25 Craziest Non-Fatal Formula One Crashes (Video)

"Don't crash." After "win," that's the one thing that every professional race car driver tells himself (or herself—what up, Danica?!) prior to a big race. Because unlike accidents that happen in other sports, an accident on the race track can result in danger to other drivers, serious injuries, and, well...worse. Way worse. Unfortunately, sometimes it's just unavoidable. And in Formula One races, in particular, where cars can reach up to 220 mph, the results can be disastrous. They've gotten so horrific that, following the death of 2011 Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon in October during an IndyCar race in Las Vegas, F1 announced that it is seriously considering redesigned the cockpit of its cars to prevent drivers from getting seriously injured in crashes. And rightfully so. To show you why that's probably a good idea, we put together a list of The 25 Craziest Non-Fatal Formula One Crashes to illustrate just how unhinged things can get out there on the track. Strap in and shield your eyes. These wrecks are ugly.

25. "You're not worried that it might happen again?"

Driver: Sebastien Buemi
Year: 2010
Race: Chinese Grand Prix
Complex Says: Most of the crashes listed here took place during actual races. This one didn't, but that doesn't mean it doesn't qualify as one of the worst Formula One crashes of all-time. It occurred during a practice lap, when Buemi hit the brakes (while the car was traveling 190 mph!) and his front suspension failed him. It caused both of his front wheels to come off, sending him flying down the track without the ability to steer. To his credit, he shook it off and participated in the race the next day. You've got balls, buddy.

24. "He's going over!"

Driver: Andrea De Cesaris
Year: 1985
Race: Austrian Grand Prix
Complex Says: The greatest part about this clip? There's a really good chance De Cesaris could have died in this accident. But he is so pissed-off afterwards that he looks unhappy to be alive. Relax, man. It's only a race! You wouldn't be able to tell that by the look on his face, though.

23. "Oh my!"

Driver: Derek Warwick
Year: 1990
Race: Italian Grand Prix
Complex Says: Despite the fact that half of Warwick's car—HALF OF THE DAMN CAR!—was missing by the time he jumped out of it, after hitting a barrier following the start of the race, he didn't appear to have a scratch on him. That's pretty impressive. But it didn't make the crash look any less painful.

22. "His luck ran out"

Driver: Alex Caffi
Year: 1991
Race: Monaco Grand Prix
Complex Says: Take a look at what was left of Caffi's car after he got into a wreck during a practice lap before the '91 Monaco GP. Yes, that's all that was left. One tire, a part of the engine, and the seat. How that much of the car managed to get destroyed without taking Caffi with it is hard to believe. Dude had a guardian angel on his shoulder that morning.

21. "Brundle has nowhere to go!"

Driver: Martin Brundle
Year: 1996
Race: Australian Grand Prix
Complex Says: Look out for that....ah! Too late. Not to make light of Brundle's terrible crash, but that's essentially what happened to him. He got boxed into a corner on a turn, lost control, went airborne, and started somersaulting toward a wall. It's a miracle that he was able to leave the car under his own power.

20. "The man who crashes at every Grand Prix"

Driver: Philippe Alliot
Year: 1990
Race: Portuguese Grand Prix
Complex Says: Damn. This guy gets absolutely no respect! Then again, from the looks of things, he does look like he was pretty reckless out on the track. Here, he almost took out the guy who eventually ended up winning the race. No wonder fellow racer James Hunt once called him "one of the worst Grand Prix drivers ever to drive a Grand Prix car." Ouch.

19. "Now, how are they?"

Driver: Nelson Piquet
Year: 1985
Race: Monaco Grand Prix
Complex Says: Because of the high speeds of Formula One races, you have to know exactly when to overtake an opponent in order to be successful. Pick the wrong spot and you could end up crashing. And that's exactly what Piquet did when he tried to pass Riccardo Patrese and misjudged how much room he would need to do it. He ended up sending both of them into a barrier and ending their races. In a true sign of sportsmanship, Patrese did jump out of his car to check on Piquet. But neither racer seemed thrilled about the way their days ended.

18. "He's headed right for him"

Driver: Nick Heidfeld
Year: 2002
Race: Austrian Grand Prix
Complex Says: This was set up to end in disaster. Heidfeld and fellow racer Takuma Sato—who have assumed quite a rivalry in recent years—inadvertently crashed into one another. Sato wrecked, then drifted off the track before coming back onto it again and cutting off Heidfeld, who was traveling at high speed. Sato suffered a concussion, while Heidfeld was carted off the track in shock. But they both lived to race another day.

17. "Oh no!"

Driver: Luciano Burti
Year: 2001
Race: German Grand Prix
Complex Says: Burti wasn't really to blame for this one. Fellow driver Michael Schumacher was actually having trouble with his Ferrari's gears and slowed down considerably right in front of Burti during the middle of the race. As a result, Burti hit him from behind, flipped his car, and nearly landed directly on top of another driver. All three drivers managed to walk away unharmed.

16. "Nasty!"

Driver: Fernando Alonso
Year: 2003
Race: Brazilian Grand Prix
Complex Says: Warning: This crash is hard to watch. After a driver got into a collision, yellow flags went out to warn drivers to slow down. Apparently, Alonso didn't see them, because he kept right on speeding through the course. Unfortunately, he ran into some leftover debris from the previous crash and got into an even worse crash himself. That had to hurt.

15. "The rollover bar digs into the gravel trap"

Driver: Jarno Trulli
Year: 2004
Race: Grand Prix of Britain
Complex Says: Thank god for modern technology! A couple of decades ago, Trulli probably would have been resting in peace after this terrible crash. But thanks to the rollover bar that all Formula One cars now have, he walked away with just a few scratches and bruises after this accident. However, the same cannot be said for his car. RIP to that machine!

14. "Move!"

Driver: Rubens Barrichello
Year: 2010
Race: Monaco Grand Prix
Complex Says: Naturally, drivers get pissed off when they wreck their cars during a race. And you'll see that here. Forget that Barrichello was a sitting duck after crashing into a barrier at the 2010 Monaco GP. He got so angry that he threw his steering wheel out of the car and watched as it got run over by another driver. That's a lose/lose situation, sir. Control your temper next time.

13. "Schumacher's car is all over the place!"

Driver: Ralf Schumacher
Year: 2002
Race: Australian Grand Prix
Complex Says: In Formula One racing, the slightest fender-bender can result in absolute mayhem. Case in point: The accident that took place here after Schumacher—the brother of F1 superstar Michael Schumacher—gave a fellow rider a tap to his rear fender. In total, 12 cars ended up scattered all over the track, Schumacher ended up crashing into a wall of tires, and the race had to be restarted. Not exactly the best way to start off a major event.

12. "All hell broke loose"

Driver: Jody Scheckter
Year: 1973
Race: Grand Prix of Britain
Complex Says: Know what's not fun? Spinning out during a Formula One race and getting stuck in the middle of the track while other cars whiz by you at unbelievably fast speeds. That's exactly what happened here. It's amazing that no one got hurt, but Scheckter's gaffe did end up taking out a dozen or so cars that tried to avoid him as he sat helplessly in the middle of the track. What a mess!

11. "Amazingly, no one is seriously injured!"

Driver: Eddie Irvine
Year: 1994
Race: Brazilian Grand Prix
Complex Says: Irvine knocked not just himself but three other drivers out of the '94 Brazilian GP when he tried to nudge fellow driver Jos Verstappen onto the grass as the two drivers attempted to lap Eric Bernard. Verstappen then lost control of his car, somersaulted in the air, and landed on top of Martin Brundle's car. The wreck ended the day for all four drivers and earned Irvine a one-race ban for his illegal maneuver. Watch where you're going out there, buddy!

10. "He suffered this horrific accident"

Driver: Mika Hakkinen
Year: 1995
Race: Australian Grand Prix
Complex Says: You know a crash is bad when a guy has to have an emergency tracheotomy right on the side of the track. That's exactly what Hakkinen had to get after he experienced tire failure during a practice run at the '95 Australian GP, lost control of the car, and crashed into a wall. That definitely doesn't sound like fun.

9. "I was unconscious, then conscious, trapped in the car"

Driver: Jackie Stewart
Year: 1966
Race: Belgian Grand Prix
Complex Says: This guy is the reason that this list even exists. Without him, there is a very good chance that almost every racer here would be dead right now. During the '66 Belgian GP, Stewart crashed going 165 mph and got trapped in his car as it filled up with fuel. Two fellow racers had to remove his steering wheel without causing a spark to free him. Later, Stewart pushed hard for new safety precautions to be put into place—a move that has no doubt saved dozens, even hundreds, of lives over the years.

8. "What happened?"

Driver: Felipe Massa
Year: 2009
Race: Hungarian Grand Prix
Complex Says: Want to get a better idea of just how fast Formula One drivers go? During a practice lap for the '09 Hungarian GP, Massa was driving when a spring from a fellow driver's car hit him in the helmet and knocked him unconscious. He drove directly into a barrier and missed the rest of the races in 2009 with a serious head injury that could have killed him.

7. "I didn't see that!"

Driver: Christian Fittipaldi
Year: 1993
Race: Italian Grand Prix
Complex Says: Talk about a photo finish! At the end of the '93 Grand Prix of Italy, Fittipaldi was posturing for seventh place when he hit the back of the car in front of him, flipped his car, stuck the landing, and then lost three of his tires before skidding through the finish line. In hindsight, it looks pretty cool. But it's amazing that this guy finished this race—and finished it alive.

6. "He just caught the very top of the tires"

Driver: Rubens Barrichello
Year: 1994
Race: San Marino Grand Prix
Complex Says: How did this guy almost manage to drive his car right into the crowd? It's unfathomable. But he lost control of his car and got so much air that he nearly drove his car right over a wall of tires. This could have been much worse than it was. And the fact that two of his fellow drivers died shortly thereafter by doing the same thing makes it all the more spooky.

5. "All his fears were realized"

Driver: Niki Lauda
Year: 1976
Race: German Grand Prix
Complex Says: Back in 1976, cars weren't built the way they are today. And drivers didn't have as much protection as they do now, either. So while this crash isn't one of the most horrific ones on this list, it did almost end the life of Lauda, who was one of the best Formula One drivers on the circuit at the time. He was injured so badly, in fact, that he was read his last rites after his Ferrari burst into flames. It burnt his face and did a ton of damage to his lungs. Somehow, he was back in the driver's seat just six weeks later. What a G.

4. "That's a horrible accident going on there"

Driver: Robert Kubica
Year: 2007
Race: Canadian Grand Prix
Complex Says: Formula One drivers are brave for doing what they do. Seriously. We give them a ton of props. Especially after seeing this crash here. Where the hell is the rest of the car? And how did this guy manage to get out of what was left of it in one piece? Unbelievable.

3. "Nobody believed he could have survived"

Driver: Gerard Berger
Year: 1989
Race: San Marino Grand Prix
Complex Says: There is absolutely no way Berger should have lived through this crash. As if plowing into the barriers at the '89 San Marino GP at 180 mph wasn't bad enough, his whole car then caught on fire with him still sitting in it. Amazingly, he walked away with "only" burns on his hands. Twenty years later, we bet he's still counting his blessings.

2. "Everybody's smashed!"

Driver: David Coulthard
Year: 1998
Race: Belgian Grand Prix
Complex Says: Carnage. That's really the only word to describe what happened here. In total, 14 cars got tangled up at the start of the '98 Belgium GP when Coulthard fell victim to the rain-soaked track and caused a massive pileup. No one got hurt, but the starting line looked like an entire junkyard had gotten dropped right on top of it. Clean-up on aisle one, please!

1. "One of the worst accidents in Formula One history"

Driver: Martin Donnelly
Year: 1990
Race: Spanish Grand Prix
Complex Says: How in the world did this guy survive hitting a guard rail head-on going 160 mph? The crash was so bad that the front of the car disintegrated, the back of it tore apart from the frame, and Donnelly was ejected onto the track still strapped to his seat. It wasn't pretty. Donnelly suffered two broken legs, a broken collarbone, a broken nose, a punctured lung, and a host of other injuries. We're sure that part wasn't fun. But neither is dying—and somehow he managed to avoid doing that. Like all of the other guys here, he's lucky to still be alive.