WATCH: When Heikki Kovalainen turned ‘fire fighter’ to save his car during the 2010 Singapore GP


WATCH: When Heikki Kovalainen turned ‘fire fighter’ to save his car during the 2010 Singapore GP

Heikki Kovalainen

The Singapore Grand Prix of 2010 is remembered for Fernando Alonso winning the race, however, it is not the only reason why it is famous. Heikki Kovalainen drove in that race for the Lotus F1 team and while he was having a pretty placid race, the attention was quickly brought on to him when his car caught a huge fire.

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The sight was horrific, however, despite the dangers of being extremely close to a fire, Heikki Kovalainen left the wheel of his F1 car and took up a fire extinguisher in order to put out the fire.

It was extremely brave on Kovalainen’s part and to date, the 2010 Singapore GP is known for his heroic efforts.

On that day, the Finn was having a normal day out the track, however, with one and a half laps remaining, he made contact with a Toro Rosso that put him into a spin, things were okay till this point, but it got out of hand when Kovalainen did another spin to get the car in the right direction.

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Heikki Kovalainen’s spin after his contact cracked a fuel valve

Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen while burning his wheels to get the car facing in the right direction cracked a fuel valve, and from then onwards things went south for the Finn.

Moreover, as he started moving, the car immediately caught fire and his team on the radio said, “It is spitting fire out of the back of the car, the engine is gone, the engine is gone.”

Stop and get out, stop and get out, it’s on fire.”

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Kovalainen after hearing the team’s instructions immediately got out of the car, but what he did next surprised people up and down the paddock.

The Finn grabbed a fire extinguisher and got started with putting out the fire, even when there were other cars on track. His bravery could have led to a fatal accident, but thankfully nothing happened, and he was applauded afterward for his quick actions.

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Also Read: ‘You are destroying the prestige of the sport’: Fans blast F1 after six sprint races for 2023 are confirmed

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