F1 jetpack flier crashes on track ahead of Austrian Grand Prix
Once the lights had gone out and the race had begun, the 2023 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix was a relatively uneventful race. Outside of an early safety car, it was the usual F1 fare for this season: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen driving away from the field while some midfield and podium battles highlighted the race.
But the biggest moment of excitement and peril went down shortly before the drivers embarked on the 71-lap race around the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. As a group of men flying with jetpacks came to deliver the checkered flag to the track, one of the had a malfunction.
With his hardware failing, the jetpack pilot careened into the track just ahead of the first turn, skidding a few yards down the asphalt after coming down.
He was OK, getting up shortly after his spill and hyping up the crowd. And the TV cameras on hand briefly cut away to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The rookie driver was sitting in his team’s garage watching the flight on a TV and the cameras caught a humorous reaction from the Australian.
Piastri, who started Sunday’s race in 13th, had a difficult day. He moved backwards in the pack, finishing 16th.
Top 10
- 1New
Arkansas upsets Kentucky
Cal wins in Rupp return
- 2
Reed Sheppard
Shows support for John Calipari
- 3
Tampering concerns
Nebraska likely to cancel spring game
- 4
Caleb Love headbutted
Multiple ejections in Arizona
- 5Hot
Bobby Hurley
Refuses handshake line
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
He joked that he and the jetpack pilot both had tough Sundays.
“Wasn’t the only one to have a tricky day,” Piastri said on Twitter, replying to the video from F1 with a grimacing emoji.
F1 drivers discussed safety at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps following a fatal crash in a lower racing series
One of motorsports most infamous corners claimed another victim on Saturday as Dutch Formula Regional Europe driver Dilano van ‘t Hoff died following a crash at Eau Rouge-Raidillion at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. He was 18.
After van ‘t Hoff’s death, a number of drivers from the highest level of European motorsports — Formula 1 — spoke out about that corner and track conditions in particular. Aston Martin F1 driver Lance Stroll told SkySports that changes should be considered to the high-speed rollercoaster of a corner.
“It breaks my heart what happened, and I think Eau Rouge at Spa needs some looking into, because we’ve lost two drivers now in the span of four years,” Stroll said. “It’s a really dangerous corner, and we say it every year, and it’s not fair what happened today. I think that corner has to change. I think it’s way too dangerous, and I think every time we go through there, there’s an accident waiting to happen. Today it happened again, and we lost a young kid, and it’s not fair,” Stroll continued, adding that “we have to talk about it.”