 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 <unk> 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 . 
