David Coulthard walked away unharmed from a 180mph smash in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix and admitted: "I was lucky."
Coulthard, a two-time winner of the race, in 2000 and 2002, lost control of his Red Bull Racing car as he emerged out of the principality's famed tunnel.
The Scot then speared into a barrier on his right, with the force of the shunt ripping off the right-rear wheel that then bounded down the track.
The right-front wheel mercifully remained tethered, otherwise the 37-year-old would have been smashed on the head as it came within inches of bouncing off his helmet.
As the car proceeded to hurtle down the run-off area beyond the Nouvelle Chicane, Coulthard was nothing more than a passenger as he waited for the secondary impact of a tyre wall.
Remarkably, Coulthard was soon out of his wrecked car and joking with marshals, potentially gallows humour after appreciating how close he had come to suffering serious injury.
Jenson Button sustained concussion and missed the race following his accident at the same part of the circuit five years ago.
In 1994, just two weeks after the deaths of fellow Austrian Roland Ratzenberger and Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna in San Marino, Karl Wendlinger lay in a coma for weeks after his horror smash into the barrier that also accounted for Coulthard.
"That was one of the biggest hits of my career, and it hurt," reflected Coulthard, who suffered a sore head and damaged elbow.
"I knew after the first hit that I definitely didn't want to do a Wendlinger because that would be a big hit.
"Even when I eventually hit the wall, that was still a reasonably big hit, so I'm very lucky today.
"It was the worst place on this track to have an accident because you are doing 180 miles an hour.
"When you lose a corner of the car it doesn't slow down because you have no brakes.
"Only after the first impact do you get scared because then you are a passenger, and you've got time to be scared.
"The big thing was missing the end of the barrier, which honestly I had no control over.
"But after the first impact I wished I was anywhere other than being strapped into a racing car.
"When you lose a corner, you lose the brakes. The fluid is open and so you are pushing the brake pedal and there is nothing.
"It's in the lap of the gods whether you hit one wall or another wall. Today I was lucky.
"It's crazy, but Formula One is a rush, so you put it down to experience and I look forward to the race tomorrow."
However, Coulthard believes some day someone will not be as lucky as he was, or Heikki Kovalainen who only suffered mild concussion at the Spanish Grand Prix a month ago after ploughing into a tyre barrier at 175mph.
"You should never forget with all the politics and all the hoohaa about F1, it is a dangerous business," added Coulthard.
"We are just one moment away from having a big one, which is why the drivers need to be together in the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers' Association), and why the FIA need to continue what they are doing.
"You saw with Heikki, the chassis was broken and his pedals were hanging out, and that's despite the efforts from McLaren and the FIA crash tests.
"It's just a matter of time before we have a big shunt and someone is injured.
"But whilst we don't have it we should rejoice that Formula One is as strong and safe as it is today."
Coulthard's mechanics will now work through the night to repair a car that will start from 10th on the grid.
To add to his woes, Coulthard was earlier fined 2,400 euros (Ј1,910) for speeding in the pit lane during final practice.
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