Sebastien Buemi, a former F1 driver was involved in a terrifying crash at the start of the Formula E race in Rome, striking into the stopped Jaguar of Sam Bird.
The race was instantly red-flagged because of the debris and blockage on the track. The drivers were able to extract themselves quickly out of the cars, and are being medically checked, however, they seem to be okay after the horrific crash.
Here is the clip of the incident:
Sam Bird started the race on the front row with his teammate, however, around the ninth lap of the race, he lost control on one of the corners, turn 6, and crashed out of the corner, stopping in the middle of the track. While most of the drivers were able to steer clear of his car (parked horizontally on the track), Sebastien Buemi was unable to control his car and struck into the car and parked aside.
Sebastien Buemi raced in F1 for two years back in 2009 with Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri). He was mostly in the midfield and had a total of 29 career points. He was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo in the 2012 season and assigned as one of the reserve drivers for Red Bull Racing.
Ricciardo joined Buemi in this category this season (reserve driver for RBR), but he has now been promoted as the driver for AlphaTauri, pretty much where Buemi drove in F1.
Multiple drivers involved alongside former F1 driver Sebastien Buemi in crash
While this crash was horrific enough for the stopped Jaguar, other drivers got claimed in the crash as well. Edoardo Mortara’s Maserati went head-on into the stopped Jaguar, ending their race as well.
Multiple cars, including Antonio Felix da Costa, Lucas di Grassi, and Robin Frijns were involved in the crash. Stoffel Vandoorne, yet another former F1 driver crashed into the wall, trying to avoid the stricken car.
The drivers extracted themselves from their cars and are deemed to be safe, but are being given medical attention. Stoffel Vandoorne raced with McLaren in F1 for two years in 2016, much like Buemi. He had a total of 26 career points in the sport. He was chosen as one of McLaren's reserve drivers, however, that did not happen in 2022.
Vandoorne also became the reserve driver for Mercedes for two years and is now a part of Aston Martin, sharing duties with Formula 2 world champion Felipe Drugovich.