Michael Schumacher suffered a horror crash at the Singapore Grand Prix that resulted in a 10-place grid penalty for the legend of the sport.
Formula One returns this weekend to the famous Marina Bay Street Circuit that has become famous for his race under the floodlights. After winning the last two races, fans are wondering if four-time world champion Max Verstappen can keep closing the gap on the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
With only seven races to go, the title fight is shaping up to be one of the closest in years. The Singapore GP has shown that it can create drama, and the legendary Schumacher knows that all too well.
In 2012, while driving for Mercedes, he smashed into the back of Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso in a collision that immediately put both cars out of the race.
The safety car was deployed, and Schumacher was later hit with a 10-place grid penalty for the following race in Japan.
He accepted responsibility, apologising to Vergne and pointing out the lack of tyre grip after a safety car period as the main reason behind the crash. But it was not the first difficult race that Schumacher had in Singapore.
The year before, in 2011, he collided with Sergio Perez’s Sauber after he misjudged the braking zone. It caused his Mercedes to flip and forced the safety car out onto the track.
Schumacher said: “It was a very unfortunate ending to my race in Singapore tonight and obviously I am a bit disappointed.
“What happened was what I would call a misunderstanding between Sergio Perez and myself.
“He was about to go inside and lifted, and I was not expecting him to do that so early, and therefore hit him. It’s probably one of those race incidents which look more impressive from outside than from inside, as I am totally ok and my impact in the end was not too heavy.
“It was a pity because my car and the tyres worked well, and therefore the pace was very good.
“I will look ahead to the next races and hope to have better endings there.”
Perez picked up a puncture that forced him into the pits, but he managed to continue and came home in tenth.
Schumacher received a reprimand for his involvement, but escaped without a penalty.
Those two incidents remain some of the most memorable moments at the Singapore GP more than a decade later.