Investigating the WEIRDEST Formula 1 Crash Ever 

The most abused thumbnail picture of all time🤣 so many compilations have that also censored, glad to learn more about it

The story is very straight forward. I was working for the Maranello team at that time. There is about 8 months between the start of the design of a car and the first time it hits the road. The chassis folks produced a design but unfortunately, we did not have an autoclave large enough to fit it, and no time to find an alternative. After some head scratching, a 2 pieces arrangement that satisfied no one was chosen. The safety of the driver (only just one we cared about) was a major concern. A specialist at the time told me about the challenges with the bonding, and the way the chassis was split to go through the crash test. The expectation was it would be borderline but ok for the season. I am pretty certain that my recollection is correct when saying that he also expressed concern about how the glue would hold over time, since no long duration data was available. For the following season, 12 months away, the autoclave situation was of course fixed and so no more dodgy tricks had to be used again.

I’m the person that wrote the comment you quoted from the Alfabb. The inside wall at turn 6 was closer to the track in 2004. It was moved back via excavation later on, which is what you see in the in car you show.

Somewhat nostalgic to see the name Kroymans again. I grew up in Hilversum back in the '90, not too far from the Kroymans showroom. One time me and a friend wanted to go checking out those exotic cars on a summer day. But feeling dissatisfied with only looking at them, we gathered our courage and decided to ask the clerk or we could sit in those cars. It was a quiet summer day, there were no customers in the showroom. So the clerk decided to be kind to us kids (we were teens, 15 years old) and allow us to choose 1 car to sit in. This is where I felt in love with the Ferrari 550 Maranello. It was the first Ferrari I sat in. Good memories, better than the memories of having Christijan Albers 🤮as a classmate in that same year. Total jerk. Didn't liked him back then, still don't like him now.

My dad has a car company from the Netherlands. Kroymans still owes him 15000 EU. They tried to finance everything by getting loans with multiple banks.

I was there when it happened, sitiing on a hillside with a friend. It was a demonstration race during the Monterey Historics weekend. I'm not certain of the year but it may have been 2004. There were about a dozen Corsa Clienti F1 cars going around the track. I didn't see the crash itself. As you said it was a warmup lap so were weren't playing close attention, but we were shocked when we saw it broken in half because as you said they weren't going too fast, and being that it was one of the newest cars there you would expect it to be the safest. By the way, if there is one weekend and one trasck to go to where you want to see the most amazing and beautiful cars, go to Laguna Seca during the historic race weekend.

Look at the car's nose, at 4:07... Wheels and suspensions are still attached, and apparently intact, the nose is just scratched, and the only thing broken off seems the front wing. Without any context, i would have guessed the car broke in two without even crashing.

Stan Fox had a crash at the 1995 Indy 500 that left his legs exposed like that. I was 14 and the memory of the car coming to rest with his legs hanging out is very vivid in my mind. Amazingly his legs were fine but he suffered severe head injuries.

I was there that day. I was just downhill from Turn 6 where this happened, heading up to take some photos. I heard the crash, and made my way the rest of the way up to the inside of the corner. I got a couple of shots of him sitting in his car, but they were from further away and I think not as good an angle as the ones you show here. It was pretty chilling.

The story I heard is that because of his tall height, the car had to be modified for his height. So the nose was dismantled and when put back on, it had a weak point. When Fritz crashed, that weak point must've just failed and the whole nose came off after the impact. But that's the story I've heard. Edit: ok, it's in the video

As a few others have noted, this was not a race. Ferrari was the featured marque at the Monterey Historics in 2004. They had several Corse Clienti cars circulating at lunch. I was working on the Course Marshall crew that day. We had to take a short lunch so that they could reopen the track. All of a sudden, we got a "stand up" order and then were dispatched to help with the cleanup. I was on the track as the SCCA crew were loading the "car" on the rollback. We put one of the rear wheels in the back of our Ford crew cab truck. My sons were in attendance and got some footage of the cleanup. You can see me on the track in a few shots. When we went back to the garage with the rollback, I carried the rear wheel, with tire still mounted, and some suspension bits into the garage for the crew. That was all so light I could carry it out at arm's length! As soon as I saw the opening still in this video, I knew it was that event!

I like watching this channel for serious Scott. But F-bomb dropping, competitive, snarky Scott is so much fun to watch on Overdrive. ESPECIALLY when he sticks it to Callum and Will.

If only our friend Alex Zanardi was this lucky

Thanks for this, I've seen the picture a bunch of times and always wondered about the origins of it, cause it's so weird that the tub would split like that. Also, I hope you do get to race at Laguna Seca, it's such a beautiful track.

Including your research/how you found the car/driver/accident was a great choice. It's rare to see that included. I'm sure it helps others in how they research things as well.

The story that you can't keep your car simply isn't true. You're allowed to have it at your home, but almost all choose to keep it at the factory for ease of maintenance. This story started with the first FXX cars and it wasn't true then, and still isn't true today... The current V6 cars aren't being sold due to sheer cost of keeping them going. So the 2 year thing doesn't exist anymore, either (this was only valid for new cars).

Reminds me of the Indy 500 crash with Stan Fox, where his legs were literally hanging out of the car while in mid-air.

The thumbnail remind me of alex zanardi's horrible crash, it just horror still can't forget it a literal human flesh flying every where

I was in the paddock and saw this car come in on the flatbed while a pack of frantic Italians attempted to keep it covered up. As you mentioned it was the first lap so everyone was wondering what happened. I saw this picture the following Monday.

Dude was so fortunate to walk away. I wonder if perhaps the bonding agent weakens over time? Cool topic and video :)

Did you actually contact Frits Kroymans himself? Because it would have been really nice to get his personal account on the accident. Fun fact: Since 2020 Frits Kroymans is back to being a Ferrari dealer again. He is not without controversy though. His company has been accused of fraud when it went into administration in 2009 and last month it came out that he had made tons of money during covid, selling medical supplies to the Dutch government through one of his other companies. Which probably earned him the cash to buy back the shares of his Ferrari dealership, which still went on under the Kroymans name all these years. Edit: I found an interview of him (in Dutch) on that crash, but unfortunately he didn't go into details: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xYG08ver090.html

Loving the channel and the research you do to uncover great story's with really well explained content. Many thanks.

The 2 year wait to get the newest car isn't necessarily about secrets being revealed, as you said ferrari holds the car and just let's the buyer drive it essentially. The bigger reason for the wait is likely the FIA test prohibition on cars younger than 2 years.

Great video, I used to work for Ferrari West Europe at that time, I had many an interaction with Fritz Kroymans, who was one of our Dutch Ferrari dealers at the time. I remember distinctly Fritz was invited to Maranello following this crash, to choose another F1 car, and he chose an F2001 to replace it. His collection was subsequently sold when he hit financial troubles back in 08, yet he's still one of two Ferrari dealers in the Netherlands. Great guy!

yooo i always had questions about this and thought it was photoshopped, thank for sharing man

Just imagine spending 10s of millions to drive a car and you end up being provided with a death trap. I'm guessing he didn't sue Ferrari but wonder if he had a good case to do so.

Saying “well to do” sounds less judgey than “rich”

oh god, this comment is before I watched the video, and the first thing that comes to mind, the very first thing is Alex Zinardi's sickening crash when he lost his legs, literally gagging at the thought as I write this, the driver is very very lucky indeed to have both legs intact... just shows how fast it can change in motorsports.

imagine spending $10 million in a car, waiting 2 years to drive it, and breaking it in half in the warmup lap :D

At the time, there was speculation that that was the chassis in which Michael had his crash in. It was then restored and sold as part of the Corsa Clienti program.

This was like one of the most obscure F1 crash picture I have ever seen and I was wondering for a long time (like maybe 10years) who was that person and how did he get in that situation. Thanks for this explaination

T6 is so rewarding when you get it right. I've seen a few who have lost it at T6 and a few close calls myself. laguna's getting a bit of a facelift right now, see how it changes (or not).

This scene reminds me of the accident Alex Zanardi had at the Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany. 😳🤦‍♂️

Yes, it really happened. I was there that weekend. No, the photos aren’t “photoshopped”. A former employer of mine was the guy who purchased Kroymans collection. (Tom Price)

Really cool video Scott, & very interesting, & cool to see that you have used some clips of my old YT vids 😎😎

Love your videos, always! Non-racing related but I was hoping you could start uploading in 4k resolution if possible. It would tremendously improve the picture quality of your videos.

Amazing analysis

man, good job on researching all of that!

thanks for the video.. i was always wondering what was the history on this

Great video. I was actually at that race as part of the Concours d'Elegance that year in which Ferrari was the featured marque. The race happened on the other side of the track out of view so this is interesting info even some twenty years later.

there is lot of creativity to illustrate video with such relevant and rare footage. huge amount of work there.

Great research

I've had a number of track days at Laguna Seca and I can confirm that turn 6 can bite you. We used to call that inside wall on the left "The United Nations Wall" because it bore the paint from cars of every type of car from around the world.

I remember a crash from the Indy 500 in the early 90’s where there was a similar result. As I recall it was the start lap and the front of the car was ripped off and the slow-mo it looks like the driver is running on the wall, but was not seriously injured.

Honourable mention for Mika Salo is in order.😀

Congrats on 1M Subscribers! 🥳

It's mind blowing to see an F1 car split in half. The fact that it was not racing at the time is testimony of just how lucky the driver was. Thanks for sharing.

Makes my gut pucker, remembering Alex Zanardi's accident.

Driver69 back with another great f1 video

I was there at Laguna Seca when this happened. Fritz didn't crash, when he turned into the apex at turn 6, the car literally broke in 1/2. This was not a RACE, it was during lunch time demonstration laps so there were limited marshals out on the turns. He was lucky that about 3-4 cars that were behind him, didn't contact him. My wife and I were having our lunch at the start/finish area, and I just happened to be on the land line for the corners. The F&C worker at turn 6 called the "alert" and that dispatched the emergency vehicles. I remember the communicator say that the car broke in "2" but he was at turn 6. I couldn't figure out, how a broken car could get from turn 2 to turn 6. He had to clarify his response a couple of times, and once he said that the broke in 1/2, that we all realized what had happened. Needless to say, this was a car, that was Schumacher's car what was "glued" back together after a crash, and was supposed to have a tag on it saying "static display only" or something to that effect. Well, somehow that tag was removed, and we know the rest. The funny thing, was that the car was put on a roll back type tow truck, a tarp was placed over it, and it was whisked out of the track in a heartbeat.

*_This is remarkable... feet and legs are most prone to injury in racing wrecks._*

Ah hey, I grew up within earshot of Laguna Seca. I've spent nights in the campsite surrounding the track and I've done photography for events in the past too. The Kink and The Corkscrew is both just one of those turns where you post up and you know you'll see something insane. And the scale of the elevation change in The Corkscrew is absolutely not possible to grasp from videos. In real life, the change is something like 3 stories of height, it's absolutely massive. You feel small standing downhill and looking up at this drop. And if you've never seen the 1996 Alex Zanardi clip, literally nicknamed "The Pass", you absolutely NEED to seek it out. Weird crashes aside, this is the single coolest move in motorsport. I love Laguna Seca so much, it's my hometown pride and I'm glad that motorsports fans the world over can love it too.

I’ve been to Laguna many times as a driver and spectator. The photos look like they are from T6, and that is a notorious place for over steer that puts you into the inside wall. The pavement is covered in skid marks.

Mate! You have 1 mil subscribers! congratulations!

Scott, I grew up in the Monterey area, and have attended numerous events at Laguna Seca. Even been lucky enough to drive several cars there: Honda Civic, Dodge Neon and Viper, Porsche 911, and even a Harley Davidson. You will have a BLAST!!!

I was there looking down from fence on outside of Turn 6 when this happened (fenced area looks down from loop at end of campground). There was no race as others noted, it was lunchtime parade laps not pre-race warmup. Turn 6 comes after a good straight and speed is carried through turn to get you up hill to top of Corkscrew. As I recall, he oversteered at apex, spun and besides clipping barrier he appeared to bounce as well on the transition from track, rumble strip, and pavement edge before sand trap/runoff. It was quite jarring to see driver sitting there with legs sticking out from severed cowl. I heard subsequently the story about lengthened cockpit…driver and Ferrari would know.

Having participated in the Skip Barber Racing School at Laguna Seca (only minutes from my home), I can say that the corkscrew is unlike anything else I have experienced. You have got to come out to California when one of the car clubs of the area have the track for the day. I'm pretty sure they will give you a spot. Then you can make an episode about it and write-off most of the expenses. *wink*

Apparently it was a 1993 car, according to what I just read on ferrari chat website. Accident was turn 6, hit the inside tyre barrier, and it was at the 2004 monterey historic on Saturday

6:27 that's interesting seeing a cut out of them sitting in the car.

So why is the rear wing also destroyed ?It must have been at so speed to turn car around and take out front and back.

Ferrari in a nutshell: If you own a Ferrari, you don't own a Ferrari.

Great to hear the story, I remember that picture.

I've seen this before, thank you for providing the background story,

The video of the car had different adverts, so not the video on the day of the crash. Great story, lucky to walk away.

Scott, I'm lucky enough that Laguna Seca is my home track. About 1 hr away. I've tracked my cars many times there and it's literally a rollercoaster ride every lap! It's not a very technical track, but there are little nuances that will make or break your lap. Turn 6 is very tricky with that slight dip at the apex. You can gain a tenth or two by getting back on the throttle fractions sooner, but if you get it wrong, you're in the gravel. You need to come out here for Monterey Car Week in August!

I’ve always thought it was a fake image. I was still not convinced it was true until photos of marshals and mechanics around the wreck.

Between "a pinch of salt" and the thumbnail, idk what the best part of this video is 😂

The good thing about this was he was travelling at a fairly slow speed. Mind boggles to think what would have happened at 150mph and the joint failed.

More like we all know the drivers were Schumacher, Irvine, and Salo.

*WHEN I WAS A KID* in the 80's the garage next to me an a JPS Lotus F1 car and an Elf F1 car sat in the back compound with weeds growing through them... The son of the owner had bought them and hill climbed them a bit and lost interest - this is how the world has changed - this was "Woodkirk Garage" in West Yorkshire, not a Ferrari dealership LOL

Thanks man your are the legend of story

My dad knows him were also from the area. He also has crashed several Ferraris on the public roads. Even once let his grandson drive it and also crashed it. It was even in the local news. They like speed and crashing for some reasons.

"i think there's front wing damage"

I’ve been lucky enough to drive Laguna Seca in my 914-6 on a Monday with the local Porsche club after the historic’s in Monterey. It will be a lot of fun if you ever get to do it.

I was at the track with a group of Corvette owners parked on the outside of turn 5 when this happened and remember it well.

Love how everyone was there yet all have different stories 😂

"Not everyone is F1 driver small." **Shows clip of George Russell**

6:00 the fact Shuey lost breaks at the end of that straight is horrifying. Given I survive, I'd be eyeballing a few engineers after!

Leguna Seca is awesome, did it on a motorbike, loved it 😄

That was a bizzare & intense crash even doe i don't remember anything about this is still a interesting & detailed video.

There were a few members from the Corvetteforum at turn 5 that day and may have more information or photos for you. I just took a look at the track and I think it came back by us uncovered on a flatbed. There is access off the track at turn 5 and would have been the fastest way off the track.

I have lived near laguna seca my whole life , I was there that day and was in the paddock when they brought the car back , they tried to hide it with blue tarps but I was able to take pictures with a disposable camera , I never developed the film but I may still have it , as for how the crash happened it was turn 6 .........

i did my first track day at laguna seca in 2004 i think and they mentioned to watch out for the turn 6 dip and mentioned this crash. The dip was abrupt enough to unsettle my mazda protege on my first lap. They repaved the track soon after for moto gp and took most of the dip out and that was noticeable when i went back a couple years later

Johnny Herbert had a similar crash in F3000 in 1988, Brands Hatch. And not forget Martin Donnelly's crash in 1990, Jerez. Although carbon fiber was the standard, safe tubs were still learning in progress at that time.

I was like 999% sure this is a clickbait. My man, very good job with this video!

I had always thought that failure was due to the car being a show car, not an actual FIA-approved race-used machine. Interesting to learn it was actually a major modification failure. Cant believe Ferrari screwed that up that bad.

Laguna Seca is one of my local tracks and I can tell you the corkscrew is like a two storie drop! Very hair raising! Great video and hope you get to drive it one day but bring a barf bag. 😆

Reminds me of those crashes in Indycar where the nose ripped off. Stan Fox in 1995. And Alex Zanardi in 2001

My friend who works as a ferrari f1 engineer since 1980 and does the cliante people. He has said that these cars are late examples of cars which do this with this type of accident, he says take a look at all other accidents like this in the 70s 80s and 90s f1 cars with drivers having broken legs/feet etc.

Was thinking from the thumbnail something similar to the indie car crash happened but he got super lucky to still have his legs

It also makes sance to think that the failure point broke first causing the crash

I saw this image for years, finally i know the story

I have researched this a few years ago and never got any mentions of a glued car, although seems realistic now. But few forums from diferent users and periods of time mentioned a specific chassis that was crashed in testing and never got to race and it was supposed to be this car. It even gave a chassis number but I guess it will take me some time because I then wasted around a week reading many and many pages of forums, opinions and in person stories. This picture was used as a thumbnail for many "f1 car crashes" and I didn't even belive it was true at that time. But it kinda makes sense rn that it was a glued car because the braking point is way too clean to be a fractured carbon fiber that has the lines oriented from the front to back and would definitely look like a mess if ruptured. Thanks for the video

Could also be a rejected part by QC or an R&D part not used for racing but good enough for weekend racers.

Congrats to the 1M btw, didnt noticed yet...

Impressive research

Laguna seca is a fun track, I cant wait to do another track day there. Mate you would love it. Hell I will let you drive my GT86 if you head this way for a track day

Love the angle at 6:26. Looks so claustrophobic.

Are some rumours of the glue sufering effects of aging and high temperature in that weekend.

My guess is that it may have been the sama chasis MSC had the crash on. The monocoque was not restored to FIA standards, plus what has been pointed out about the customization to fit the VIP in such narrow space… probably getting rid of the front structure of the safety cage. Luckily for him, it was in the warm up lap and barely kissed the wall, otherwise it would have been much worse than just the few millions in repairs Kroyman’s creditors granted him unintentionally