Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel crashed his Ferrari SF71H during a demonstration event on the streets of Milan, Italy.
During a demonstration on the streets the Darensa dockland area in Milan, Italy ahead of his Sunday’s Formula 1 race and Scuderia Ferrari’s home race, the Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari teammates Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen both drove their Ferrari SF71H cars.
Alfa Romeo Sauber teammates Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson as well as Scuderia Toro Rosso teammate Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley joined them to drive in front of the thousands of fans who lined the streets to spectate the action.
Vettel is coming off of an almost perfect Belgian Grand Prix, as he led all 44 of the race’s laps around the 19-turn, 4.352-mile (7.004-kilometer) Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium after starting in second place and taking the lead on the first lap.
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Vettel began the Belgian Grand Prix in second place in the Formula 1 driver standings behind Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton came into the race with 213 points while Vettel entered with 189.
As a result of his victory, Vettel scored 25 points. Hamilton scored 18 points as a result of his second place finish, allowing Vettel to close to within 17 points of him (231 to 214) in the driver standings with eight races remaining on the 21-race 2018 Formula 1 schedule.
But in an interesting turn of events, the 31-year-old German is off to a very rocky start in Italy ahead of the 53-lap race around the 12-turn, 3.600-mile (3.793-kilometer) Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy.
During this demonstration, Vettel drove his #5 Ferrari SF71H within the confines of what looked like a barrier for a makeshift go-kart track, which, for the average person, would seem to be a far more simple task that driving full-speed in the world’s premier open-wheel racing series.
But the 52-time Grand Prix winner came into one of the turns far too hot and could not slow down. As a result, he drove straight into the barrier.
Here is a video of the four-time Formula 1 champion driving straight into the barrier, damaging the front wing of his machine and causing him to return to the makeshift pit lane.
Be particularly sure to listen to the reactions of those in the crowd upon seeing Vettel crash.
Will Sebastian Vettel’s shunt during this demonstration on the streets of Milan be in the back of his head in this Sunday’s race as he attempts to cut more points out of Lewis Hamilton’s lead in the driver standings? Tune in to the live broadcast of the race this Sunday, September 2 at 9:10 a.m. ET on ESPN2.