 Several weeks after pre @-@ qualifying , Mercedes ' returned for two days of practice and qualifying sessions in the week leading up to the race . The sessions would set the starting grid for the race based on the fastest overall lap time by each car . At the end of the first day , Mercedes ' entries were fifth , sixth , and eighth on the provisional grid . Toyota led the session , over four seconds ahead of the fastest Mercedes . Early in the second day of sessions , Webber , driving CLR No. 4 , was following the Audi R8R of Frank Biela through the portion of the circuit connecting Mulsanne Corner and the Indianapolis complex when he moved out of the Audi 's slipstream to overtake . The CLR suddenly lifted its nose and front wheels off the circuit and became airborne , flipping upwards and somersaulting backwards before rotating onto its side . The car impacted the tarmac with its right side while perpendicular to the circuit then flipped back onto its wheels before skidding 300 m ( 980 ft ) into the safety barriers on the side of the circuit . Webber was extracted from the car by track marshals and taken to a nearby hospital suffering from a sore neck , chest , and back . The accident occurred in an area not generally accessible to the public and was not seen by television cameras . 
