F1: Fernando Alonso goes airborne and somehow stays in the race (VIDEO)

Fernando Alonso made contact with Lance Stroll, went airborne, and somehow his car was still able to go in Sunday’s F1 United States Grand Prix.

Formula 1 cars are generally engineered to stay as low to the ground as possible. They’re feats of remarkable engineering, so when they go against that intended purpose and leave the ground, it’s a pretty big deal.

On Sunday in Austin, Texas, Fernando Alonso (Alpine) got too close trying to overtake to Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and went over his left-rear tire.

It sent the front two wheels of Alonso’s car airborne, crashing down moments later. Thankfully, he landed right-side up. Here’s a video of the incident:

Stroll’s car didn’t make it out unscathed, and he had to leave the race with lots of damage to his left side. Remarkably, the Alpine returned to the race after a safety car.

Fernando Alonso stays to compete in the top 10

Coming into Sunday’s race in Texas, Fernando Alonso has 65 points and is ninth in the driver’s standings. He’s 13 behind his teammate Esteban Ocon. In the constructor’s standings, Alpine is well behind the No. 3 Mercedes.

The crash came just after a preceding safety car in Austin, but quickly resumed thereafter once the marshalls cleared the surface of debris and moved the Aston Martin out of the way.

Stroll now goes two straight weekends without securing points. Stroll also retired in Italy in mid-September. It’s just his second retirement of the season.