Red Bull driver Mark Webber has said that he was terrified of making aerial contact with part of the track during his spectacular high-speed flip during the European Grand Prix this weekend, and admitted he had been lucky.
Webber crashed out of the Valencia race in dramatic fashion, clipping a slow Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus, having his car flip upside down and strike an advertising board, before landing upside down and mercifully coming to a stop the right way up.
The incident happened after Webber had pitted early and dropped to the back of the field.
And speaking about the accident on Monday, Webber admitted that he had been fortunate to escape the shunt unharmed.
"I was worried about bridges or things that I could hit up in the air," Webber mused after escaping the crash with some minor bruising.
"I knew I was involved in a huge crash, and that I was just a passenger."
He added: "But I knew there was a lot of run-off down there, so that was good. I was also happy it was a tyre wall and not the Techpro stuff because that is not as good as the tyres.
"After Singapore, what happened last year, this was a nicer cushioning hit for me. The biggest surprise was being in a Formula 1 race and having someone brake that early. But things like that happen."
He also pointed out that though the speed the accident happened at made it more dramatic, it was actually a good thing because it gave him momentum to dissipate the crash.
"The impact wasn't too hard. It was okay because I had a massive forward momentum, so that was good," the Australian driver shrugged.
When asked if he had feared for his health during the shunt, he added: "Of course, yeah. It's headline stuff what goes through my head, but that's the game we're in and some days that happens."
Webber was injured before the start of the 2009 season after colliding with a car during a charity bike ride.
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