Michael Schumacher collided with Force India driver Vitantonio Luizzi on the opening lap of the 2010 season finale.
The 2010 F1 season saw a fantastic four way Title battle between Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton. That year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi saw a brilliant Championship fight conclude.
Alonso was the leading the standings coming into the finale in Yas Island. His race however did not go according to plan, as Vettel (who did not lead the standings before Abu Dhabi) ended up winning his first Title.
A piece of Mercedes @F1 history. 😍
Michael @Schumacher’s race worn suit from 2011 🖤❤️💛 pic.twitter.com/ri2cK4Bj7v
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) October 7, 2021
Keeping the brilliant conclusion aside, there was also drama on the opening lap. This involved Michael Schumacher, one of the greatest Drivers of all time, who collided with Force India’s Vitantonio Luizzi.
Schumacher was driving for Mercedes, spun on lap one and before he could get out of way, Luizzi’s Force India rammed into his car, and landed on top of his cockpit.
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Michael Schumacher was laughing after almost dying
The addition of Halo in F1 cars today has earned plenty of plaudits. This is because there have been a few scary crashes in the last few years which could have seriously injured drivers had it not been for the Halo’s addition.
Schumacher’s crash in this instance was back in 2010. This was way before even the idea of this Halo device was discussed. Thankfully, Schumacher did not suffer any injuries in this scary collision with Luizzi.
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On top of that, he seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood when he came back to the pit-lane. He was smiling and laughing while walking alongside the man with whom he collided.
Schumacher returned to F1 in 2010 in spite of announcing his retirement in 2006. His return however was not to compete for more World Titles, but was to help Mercedes land on their feet and settle into F1.
The German spent two more seasons at Mercedes, and in 2012 announced that he would leave the sport for good.