In the high-octane world of Formula 1, where the line between glory and tragedy is measured in milliseconds and millimeters, the race start is the most volatile and intense moment of all. Many believe the final corner of a season is the most dangerous place on the track, but they are profoundly mistaken.

The most brutal, career-altering phase of any F1 event is the first 15 seconds off the grid. This is when adrenaline surges, and split-second decisions can lead to catastrophic collisions that not only define a championship but also permanently reshape the safety protocols of the sport.

We will now revisit the 10 most chaotic opening lap accidents in F1 history—moments of sheer madness that created legends, forged tragedies, and, on rare occasions, delivered miracles.

1. Monza 2018: Sebastian Vettel’s Championship Dream Shatters

On September 2, 2018, at the legendary Monza circuit, the 14th round of the season hosted a breathtaking championship fight between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton held a 17-point lead, but Ferrari was on home soil, hungry for redemption. Kimi Räikkönen had clinched pole position with the fastest qualifying lap in F1 history, averaging a staggering 263.588 km/h. However, it was the battle brewing behind him that would ultimately define the championship.

As the lights went out, Hamilton launched an immediate attack on Vettel. Approaching the second chicane, contact was made. Vettel’s Ferrari spun like a top, a disaster that saw his championship hopes scatter across the Italian tarmac. The German driver dropped to the back of the pack while Hamilton surged into the lead. Though Vettel complained over the radio that the move was “silly,” the stewards deemed it a “racing incident” with no penalties issued. Hamilton would go on to overtake Räikkönen and claim victory, while Vettel fought his way back to a hard-earned fourth place.

A lesser-known piece of history was also made that day: Romain Grosjean’s disqualification from sixth place promoted Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin to 10th, securing his only career point. This result meant that for the first time ever, every driver who started and finished every race in the 2018 season scored at least one championship point. That fateful contact at the chicane effectively ended Vettel’s title aspirations, proving that sometimes, a championship dies not with a bang, but with a spin.

2. Silverstone 2021: The Explosive Rivalry of Verstappen and Hamilton

July 18, 2021, at Silverstone, marked the 10th round of one of the most intense championship battles in a decade. Max Verstappen led Lewis Hamilton by 32 points and had just won the inaugural sprint qualifying to claim pole. The stage was set for war at Hamilton’s home circuit, with 140,000 British fans creating a cauldron of noise. Both drivers knew this was a pivotal moment in their title fight.

The start was clean, but the battle had just begun. They raced side-by-side through multiple corners, neither giving an inch. Then came Copse, one of the fastest corners in F1, taken at 290 km/h (180 mph). Hamilton dove for the inside line; Verstappen held his ground on the outside. Contact was inevitable. The Red Bull snapped sideways and slammed into the tire wall with a terrifying 51G of force, enough to knock most people unconscious.

Verstappen was rushed to the hospital while Hamilton received a 10-second penalty but, somehow, still won the race. Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was furious: “That’s what I’m most angry about. We are lucky that there wasn’t someone seriously hurt.” The crash cost an estimated $1.3 million and turned the championship fight toxic overnight. Verstappen called Hamilton’s victory celebrations “disrespectful and unsportsmanlike,” while Hamilton defended his move as hard racing. The race director later clarified that the stewards’ penalty decision did not take the severe consequences of the collision into account. The gloves were off, and they would stay off for the rest of the season.

3. Interlagos 2012: The Legendary Comeback of Sebastian Vettel

On November 25, 2012, the final round of the season at Interlagos, Sebastian Vettel held a knife-edge 13-point lead over Fernando Alonso. The German only needed to finish fourth, even if Alonso won. The pressure was suffocating. Light rain just before the start made the track treacherous. Vettel had a poor getaway, immediately dropping from fourth to seventh. Fifteen seconds later, he was facing the wrong way with a damaged car after a collision with Bruno Senna at Turn 4.

Vettel’s car spun like a top, dropping him from seventh to 22nd with his left sidepod hanging off like a broken wing, yet he was somehow able to continue. Alonso, watching from his Ferrari, must have thought the title was his for the taking, especially with his teammate actively helping him move up the order. But champions never give up.

What followed was one of the greatest comeback drives in F1 history. Vettel carved through the field like a man possessed, battling the rain and a chaotic field. The drama continued in the pits when his radio failed, causing a critical delay. With a damaged car and worsening rain, Vettel finally wrestled sixth position from Michael Schumacher, becoming the sport’s youngest-ever triple world champion. He crossed the line to win his third consecutive title by a mere three points. Vettel later called it his toughest race ever; the media called it a roller coaster. In truth, it was the moment a good driver became a great champion.

4. Spa-Francorchamps 2012: Fernando Alonso’s Miraculous Escape

September 2, 2012, the 12th round of the season at Spa-Francorchamps. Fernando Alonso led the championship by 40 points and was cruising toward his third title, but Romain Grosjean had other plans. Jenson Button started on pole, but the danger lurked just behind. Championship rival Alonso was starting sixth, with Lewis Hamilton in eighth. Crucially, the man who would trigger the chaos, Romain Grosjean, was lined up directly beside Hamilton.

As the lights went out, Grosjean made a move that nearly killed a man. He squeezed Lewis Hamilton at La Source, lost control, and went airborne. His Lotus flew directly over Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari cockpit, missing the Spaniard’s head by mere inches. The crash instantly eliminated Alonso, but the danger was far greater than the DNF suggested.

Grosjean immediately accepted the blame, stating, “I misjudged the gap. It was a small mistake but a big incident.” The terrifying image of his car flying inches above Alonso’s helmet became the defining moment that accelerated the adoption of the Halo cockpit protection device. Four cars were eliminated instantly. Grosjean was banned for one race and fined €50,000. The direct result of that horrifying near-miss materialized six years later when the Halo became mandatory—the very device that would later save Grosjean’s own life. While Button went on to win, nobody was talking about the victory; they were talking about the miracle that Alonso was still alive.

5. Albert Park 2002: A Physics Lesson in Unstoppable Force

March 3, 2002, the season opener at Albert Park, and Ferrari looked unbeatable. Rubens Barrichello claimed pole, with teammate Michael Schumacher alongside him. Starting third, Ralf Schumacher was hungry for an early-season statement. The stage was set for a Melbourne classic. Instead, we got a physics lesson in what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.

Barrichello braked into Turn 2, a perfectly legal defensive move. Ralf, doing 240 km/h (150 mph) in his Williams, had nowhere to go. The impact launched his car clean over the Ferrari like a world-record long jump attempt. The carnage was immediate and devastating: eight cars were eliminated in seconds. Half the field was gone before they completed a single racing lap. F1 commentator Martin Brundle delivered one of the greatest lines in the sport’s history: “It’s like everybody’s shunting in sympathy.”

Michael Schumacher, who cleverly avoided the chaos by driving through the grass, went on to win his 54th career victory. The stewards ruled the crash a racing incident. But the real story was survival: only eight cars finished the race. This unprecedented chaos delivered an instant legend, as Mark Webber finished fifth for the tiny Minardi team, securing their first points in three years. In the early 2000s, F1 was still learning that spectacular doesn’t always mean safe.

6. Hungaroring 2021: The Mercedes Mayhem

On August 1, 2021, at the Hungaroring, Max Verstappen’s championship lead had been slashed to just eight points after his crash with Hamilton at Silverstone. Lewis Hamilton claimed pole, with teammate Valtteri Bottas alongside him. Bottas, starting second, had one job: don’t mess this up for Hamilton. He messed it up spectacularly.

Braking too late into Turn 1, Bottas collected Lando Norris, who hit Verstappen, who then collected Sergio Pérez. In a separate incident, Lance Stroll also braked too late, hitting Charles Leclerc and forcing Daniel Ricciardo to spin. Five cars were eliminated, and two more were severely damaged.

The restart was surreal: Hamilton was the only driver who lined up on the grid, as everyone else had pitted for dry tires during the red flag. But the chaos wasn’t over. An unsafe release from Alfa Romeo sent Kimi Räikkönen into Nikita Mazepin, taking him out of the race. Esteban Ocon inherited the lead and went on to win his first-ever F1 race for Alpine, thanks to a masterful defensive drive from teammate Fernando Alonso, who held up a charging Hamilton. After the race, second-place finisher Sebastian Vettel was disqualified for a fuel infringement, promoting Hamilton to second and ensuring Mercedes took the lead in the Constructors’ Championship.

7. Silverstone 1973: The Biggest Pile-Up in History (At the Time)

July 14, 1973, at Silverstone’s original, unforgiving layout. With no chicanes and no runoff areas, it was pure speed and concrete barriers. Ronnie Peterson started on pole, but Jackie Stewart, hunting his third world title, was the man to beat. An astonishing 29 cars lined up on the grid. Stewart made a brilliant start, but behind him, Jody Scheckter was having the drive of his life.

Then came Woodcote Corner, a flat-out 274 km/h (170 mph) sweeper. Scheckter lost control, spun across the track, and ricocheted off the pit wall back into the racing line just as the field arrived at full speed. Nine cars were eliminated in a chain reaction of twisted metal. It would stand as F1’s biggest race start crash until 1998. Andrea de Adamich was trapped in his car with a broken ankle that would end his career.

The race was restarted with just 19 cars. Scheckter, the instigator, was barred from the restart by his own team. The crash was so devastating that Silverstone added the Woodcote chicane before the 1975 race, a safety modification that remains today. The real story was survival in an era when safety was still an afterthought.

8. Singapore 2017: Ferrari’s Nightmare Under the Lights

September 17, 2017, under the lights of Marina Bay. Lewis Hamilton held a precarious three-point championship lead over Sebastian Vettel, who had just claimed pole. But wet conditions for F1’s first-ever night race in the rain made everything unpredictable.

The start was clean for exactly five seconds. Then, physics and poor judgment collided. Max Verstappen, sandwiched between the two Ferraris of Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen, had nowhere to go. Contact sent Räikkönen spinning into his teammate’s sidepod. The ricochet was catastrophic, also collecting Fernando Alonso. For the first time ever, both Ferrari cars were eliminated on the opening lap of a Grand Prix.

Vettel’s points lead evaporated in a cloud of carbon fiber. Hamilton inherited the lead and never looked back, going on to extend his championship advantage to 28 points and eventually winning the title. Many trace his victory back to those five seconds of chaos in Singapore. The stewards investigated and ruled it a racing incident, with the only price paid in wreckage and retirement.

9. Spa-Francorchamps 1998: The $10 Million Crash and a Furious Confrontation

August 30, 1998, at a drenched Spa-Francorchamps. Mika Häkkinen led Michael Schumacher by seven points in the championship. The organizers chose to start the race without a safety car, and visibility was measured in hope rather than meters. David Coulthard, starting second, was about to trigger the most expensive single moment the sport had ever seen.

Coming out of La Source, Coulthard lost control, his McLaren rebounding directly into the path of the unsighted field. Twelve cars were damaged in a single, massive pile-up. The financial damage was estimated at over $10 million in 1998 money. Because the crash happened on the first lap, the race was restarted, but four drivers couldn’t make the second start.

The drama was far from over. Midway through the restarted race, leader Michael Schumacher, lapping Coulthard in heavy spray, slammed into the back of the McLaren. An enraged Schumacher stormed down to the McLaren garage to confront Coulthard, famously accusing him of “trying to kill me.” The incident handed victory to Damon Hill and the Jordan team, their first ever. Years later, in 2003, Coulthard finally admitted fault for both incidents, a confession that took years to emerge from the turmoil.

10. Bahrain 2020: Romain Grosjean’s Fiery Resurrection

November 29, 2020, at the Bahrain International Circuit. Lewis Hamilton had already clinched his seventh world title. The pressure was off. Romain Grosjean, starting 19th in his final season, was looking to end his F1 career on a high note. Instead, he nearly ended it in the most horrific way imaginable.

On lap one, Grosjean’s car clipped another and veered into the barrier at 192 km/h (119 mph) with an impact of 67G. The car split in half, and the front section, with Grosjean trapped inside, wedged into the barrier and erupted into a massive fireball. For 28 agonizing seconds, the world watched in horror as flames consumed what should have been his tomb.

Then, a figure emerged from the inferno. It was Romain Grosjean, walking away with only second-degree burns on his hands. The Halo—the titanium safety bar he had once criticized—had absorbed the impact that would have crushed his skull, saving his life. The same innovation born from his own near-miss with Alonso eight years earlier had become his salvation. Hamilton won the race, but nobody cared. The only thing that mattered was the miracle. Grosjean, speaking from his hospital bed, said it best: “The Halo is the greatest thing that we brought to Formula 1, and without it, I wouldn’t be able to speak to you today.” It was a chilling reminder that the line between triumph and tragedy is measured in millimeters, milliseconds, and the miracle of modern F1 safety.