Watch: Massive scare after safety car enters track sideways during F4 race

The incident took place during Race 4 of the opening round of the Russian SMP F4 championship, when the safety car unexpectedly entered the Moscow Raceway sideways instead of returning safely to the pits as usual, with all 18 young drivers already back at full throttle believing the race was about to restart normally.

The race leader came off worst in the chain reaction that followed, in what could easily have ended in a far more serious accident. After understandably slamming on the brakes first, he was immediately hit from behind by the second-placed driver. The real miracle, however, came from Marko Markozov, who somehow managed to swerve away at the very last moment and avoid what would otherwise have been a full-speed head-on crash with the safety car.

The footage of the terrifying near-miss spread rapidly across social media, attracting strong reactions from across the motorsport world. Among those to comment was 2024 F1 Academy champion Abby Pulling, who admitted the incident could easily have ended in a far more serious way while also calling for a full investigation into how such a dangerous situation was allowed to happen. Thankfully, all drivers involved escaped unharmed.

“So lucky this didn’t end worse. Scary things like this can happen still in modern racing, I hope this is investigated properly in how they let this situation unfold. Glad everyone is ok.”

As for the on-track results across the four races, victories were shared between Ivan Pigaev, Timur Shagaliev, Maksim Orlov and Platon Kostin during the opening weekend of the 24-race season.

Below is the video of the incident.

With Max Verstappen’s much-discussed Nordschleife weekend now in the books, attention shifts back to Formula 1 as the paddock heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. The return of the Sprint format means fans can look forward to a packed three-day schedule at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Track action will get underway on Friday, May 22, with the drivers taking part in the only free practice session of the weekend from 17:30 to 18:30 BST. Later in the day, Sprint Qualifying will set the grid for Saturday’s Sprint Race, running from 21:30 to 22:14 BST. Saturday will begin with the Sprint itself, scheduled between 17:00 and 18:00 BST, before full qualifying takes centre stage later in the evening from 21:00 to 22:00 BST as the battle for pole position unfolds.

The main event of the weekend, the Canadian Grand Prix, is set to start at 21:00 BST on Sunday, May 24. Alongside Formula 1, both Formula 2 and F1 Academy will also be in action throughout the weekend, adding even more track time to an already busy programme in Montreal.