Macklin, who also braked hard, ran off the right-hand edge of the track, throwing up dust. Macklin tried to avoid Hawthorn, whether it was an instinctive swerve from surprise, a loss of control from going onto the change of road-surface, or his car's disc brakes operating unevenly. As a result, Macklin's car veered across to the centre of the track, apparently briefly out of control. This however put him into the path of Levegh's Mercedes-Benz, closing at over , intent on doing another lap and in front of Fangio, who was patiently waiting to pass. Levegh had no time to evade and with possibly his last action, raised his hand warning Fangio, thereby probably saving Fangio's life. With his eyes shut Fangio, with his own quick reflexes, squeezed through the carnage, just brushing Hawthorn's now-stationary Jaguar in the pits, but getting through unscathed.