Deaths and Security Development

Formula 1 has already claimed 25 deaths on the race weekends alone. But bad accidents are increasingly rare - thanks to extreme security development.

Also at the 1000th World Cup race on the viewer tickets will be pointed to the dangers that bring the motorsport. But today, on-site visitors can be reasonably confident that they will not witness a fatal accident - and, above all, that they themselves remain intact. That was not always the case: at the Italian GP 1928, 41 people died when Emilio Materassi flew into the crowd, in Italy in 1961 when Wolfgang Graf Berghe of Trips crashed it was 14 people, in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1955 even 84. The racing past not only knows fame, glory and laurel leaves but also death, blood, and pain. Twenty-five racers have died on a Formula One race weekend alone, plus seven who crashed in the Indy 500 when the race was still in World Cup status from 1950 to 1960. And there are 14 drivers who lost their lives during test drives or in Formula One races not counting for the World Cup. 49 Formula One drivers died in other races, which they often contested in parallel to Formula 1. These are the brutal numbers of Formula 1. There are also encouraging statistics on the subject. 19 of the 25 drivers died in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Since the 80s, the number of deaths has dropped to five. In the current millennium Jules Bianchi (Japan 2014) even "only" died pilot. And this death was a chain of unfortunate circumstances. The safety development in Formula 1 is promising. It was also catastrophic in the early years. Only since 1952, the driver must wear a helmet, only since 1967 is compulsory. Nevertheless, not all drivers have strained the belts properly - which, for example, Jochen Rindt 1970 was fatal in Monza. The Austrian was afraid of being caught in the car when the fire broke out.

FORMULA 1: START ACCIDENTS

This fear was not unjustified. Many Formula 1 drivers burned alive. For a long time, the chassis were made of magnesium alloys that were just as flammable as the straw bales on the edge of the track. Stuart Lewis-Evans in Morocco in 1958, Lorenzo Bandini in Monaco in 1967, Jo Schlesser in France in 1968 and Roger Williamson in Zandvoort in 1973 fell victim to the hell of hell. Ronnie Peterson survived his fire accident in 1978 but died of an embolism in the hospital. Today, every Formula 1 car has fire extinguishers on board, which usually start automatically as soon as a fire breaks out in the cockpit - a now very unlikely event. Since 1975, the drivers also wear fireproof clothing.

The sources of the danger of the formula 1

Halo has probably already saved a human life The second source of danger were rollovers because drivers were thrown from the cockpit or crushed by their own car. Like Luigi Musso in France in 1958 or Gilles Villeneuve in 1982 in Belgium. Today, the roll bars have to withstand a load of 27 tons above the airbox. Since 2018, a titanium bar has also been used above the driver's head - and probably saved Charles Leclerc's life at the start-up crash in Belgium. The hanger called Halo has to withstand a load of twelve tons from the top, 4.7 tons from the front, and 9.5 tons from the side. The open cockpit of a Formula One racing car Alan Stacey was flown in Belgium in 1960 (bird in the face), Piers Courage 1970 (hit by a wheel), Mark Donohue 1975 in Austria (crashed into a fence post) and Tom Pryce in South Africa 1977 ( Because of the open cockpits for Chris Bristow in Belgium in 1960 and Helmut Koinigg in Watkins Glen in 1974, they became a guillotine. The barriers were often a disaster. Onofre Marimón, Peter Collins and Carel Godin de Beaufort died because they crashed trees into their vehicles! FOR GALLERY Also imaginable is the fact that there is only since 1978 a permanent doctor in Formula 1, only since 1980 is a hospital duty, even since 1986, a rescue helicopter. Lack of medical care after accidents led to many of the deadly accidents, especially during test drives. In contrast, Formula 1 is safer today than football: no pinching meniscus, no lacerations, no broken bones. The Formula 1 vehicle has to withstand insane loads in crash tests: the monocoque (the safety cell) is loaded with 20 tons from the front and 25 tons from the side. At the track, so-called Tecpro barriers (a mixture of foam, steel, and water) absorb a large part of the accident energy during impact. The wheels are attached to the cockpit by steel cables and no longer fly uncontrollably through the air after accidents. But the drive for more safety will continue in the next 1000th Grand Prix.

The list of deaths in Formula 1

Onofre Marimón (MaseratI) Germany GP 1954

Luigi Musso (Ferrari) France GP 1958

Peter Collins (Ferrari) Germany GP 1958

Stuart Lewis-Evans (Vanwall) Morocco GP 1958

Chris Bristow (Cooper-Climax) Belgium GP 1960

Alan Stacey (Lotus Climax) Belgium GP 1960

Wolfgang Graf Berghe of Trips (Ferrari) Italy-GP 1961

Carel Godin de Beaufort (Porsche) Germany GP 1964

John Taylor (Brabham BRM) Germany GP 1966

Lorenzo Bandini (Ferrari) Monaco GP 1967

Jo Schlesser (Honda) France GP 1968

Gerhard Mitter (BMW) Germany GP 1969

Piers Courage (De-Tomaso-Ford) Netherlands GP 1970

Jochen Rindt (Lotus-Ford) Italy GP 1970

Roger Williamson (March-Ford) Netherlands GP 1973

François Cevert (Tyrrell-Ford) USA GP 1973

Helmut Koinigg (Surtees-Ford) USA-GP 1974

Mark Donohue (Penske-Ford) Austria GP 1975

Tom Pryce (Shadow Ford) South Africa GP 1977

Ronnie Peterson (Lotus-Ford) Italy GP 1978

Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) Belgium GP 1982

Riccardo Paletti (Osella-Ford) Canada GP 1982

Roland Ratzenberger (Simtek-Ford) Imola GP 1994

Ayrton Senna (Williams-Renault) Imola GP 1994

Jules Bianchi (Marussia Ferrari) Japan GP 2014

*This article was first published in German at autobild.de