WATCH: Disastrous fire accident due to collision at the start of the GT race in Barcelona

The Fanatec GT World Challenge happened in the Barcelona circuit where typical Formula 1 races in the Spanish Grand Prix had a disastrous start. The race was a supercar challenge and so the world’s leading supercar manufacturers like Ferrari, Audi, Porsche, and Mercedes competed in the 60-minute race to win the world challenge.

ALSO WATCH: World's fastest pitstop ever in Formula 1 by McLaren team at 2023 Qatar GP

Massive crash at the start

Before the race, there was partial rain all over the circuit which made the circuit very tricky. Some teams chose slick tyres and some opted for Pirelli’s Wet tyres. At the beginning of the race on the way to Turn 1, No 57 Mercedes AMG without any grip hit No 66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi car and they both hit the wall leading the Audi car to catch fire. The driver was pushed further 100 yards and the incident looked like a big one.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The home of all things racing 🏠 (@formula_aerodynamics)

Due to the enhanced car safety, the driver Dylan Pereira came out of the fire-engaged car unhurt on time and he ran away accompanied by the stewards. This dramatic fire accident brought the safety car and the track was cleared of the debris that fell due to the incident.

Also Read: Top 5 Rookie drivers who became legend killers in Formula 1

After the incident rainfall also intensified and many teams who judged of using Slick tyres realized that they were wrong and went back to the garage changed their tyres to wet and continued the race. The Rain was very intense and the marshalls stopped the cars after they started spinning in the corners. 

The cars were all sent back to the garage and they were not allowed to enter the track due to safety concerns. There were just 10 minutes to go and the race started again after they felt the track was safe once again. The Spanish GP in Barcelona is always very tough even for Formula 1 drivers. Due to high-speed corners, drivers often collide with each other. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collided with each other at the start of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix in the same kind of incident.

ALSO WATCH: Throwback to Unseen footage of four F1 drivers in a Formula 1 car in Mexico GP