Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Grand Prix on 21 June 2015, beating Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes. The image most often pulled from the race, however, came from the opening lap, when Fernando Alonso’s McLaren ended up riding over Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari after a frightening accident.
A small loss of control with a large visual result
Räikkönen started in the midfield after a poor qualifying session for Ferrari. On the first lap, he lost control on the run away from the early corners, and Alonso had little room to avoid him. The McLaren struck the Ferrari and was launched partly over it before both cars slid into the barriers.
The crash looked worse than the injuries it produced. Both drivers climbed out, helped by the strength of the cars and the safety systems of the period. It was still an uncomfortable reminder that even modern Formula 1 can produce accidents that look oddly slow in cause and very violent in result.
A Mercedes win with a different memory attached
Rosberg’s victory mattered in the 2015 championship fight, reducing Hamilton’s advantage and giving Mercedes another one-two. Felipe Massa finished third for Williams after Sebastian Vettel lost time in the pits. Those facts belong in the record, but the race’s visual memory lives elsewhere.
The Alonso and Räikkönen crash fits 21 June because it was distinctive, serious-looking and safely survived. It also sits neatly in the modern safety story: a strange accident that could be replayed repeatedly because the drivers were able to walk away from it.
Reader signal