Watch McLaren’s flying Finn play hide and seek in a tyre wall

Proof that a modern Formula 1 car is almost indestructible. Ten years ago, this incident may well have cost Kovalainen his life; F1’s zero-tolerance attitude to safety in the 21st century means that a driver can almost walk away from a huge crash like this. As a precaution, the Finn had to be airlifted to hospital, but he suffered no injury apart from minor concussion after the smash.

McLaren F1 chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said: “Heikki was lucky because it was a big accident. The force was 26G - it is a higher G-force than you get if you are strapped into the ejector seat of a military aircraft.”

The crash was caused after one of the McLaren’s front tyre deflated, possibly after a loose stone came between the wheel and the suspension. McLaren’s preliminary report on the cause of the incident has ruled out a structural failure.