17 years since the weekend that Senna and Ratzenberger died. There hasn't been an F1 death since. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_fatal_accidents Let's hope it stays that way.
Only for the Grace of God we haven't seen another one so far. There were many accidents that got within an inch of disaster: MS in Abu Dhabi and Rio, Kubica in Montreal, Hamilton in Germany, Wendlinger in Monaco to name a few. It will happen again, just a matter of time.
Come to think of it, this is actually not true: No F1 driver has been killed driving a F1 in the past 17 years. F1 drivers have been killed in the past 17 years (Alboreto, Regazzoni). And there was a fatal accident at the Monza GP when a track worker was killed during a GP.
When it does it will be a head injury (per Tom Pryce) or G-force imact. The cockpits/cells are proven to be bulletproof per Kubica's crash. Fire danger has been done away with via amazing fire suits, on board extinguishers, and rapid response fire teams. Still the drivers heads are exposed, and I guess it will always be, for the fans to see and relate to and no matter how indestructable the car is the body can only take so many G's. We have been fortunate.
Agreed on all you said. We had now several near decapitations (MS in Abu Dhabi last year being the most recent one) and I'm afraid, that if that ever happens, they would reconsider closing the cockpits. That would really, really suck.
R.I.P to all of those drivers who died and inspired generations in this dangerous Motor Sport discipline! Greetz, Joseph
My god man, we know what he MEANT... I, for one, am not quite 100% of the latter. Did anyone see Ralf's crash at Indy in 2004? How long did it take the safety crew to get to him? Yes, that was seven years ago, and there was no fire, but still...
I knew too what he meant but let's not forget that F1 had its tragic deaths since. I don't particularly like the Wiki stat Aircon quoted since it doesn't list F1 drivers killed in racing outside of F1. It lacks names like Clark. Winkelhock, Bellof and others.
Senna will ALWAYS be my favorite driver. To me what set him apart was not his driving skill, but his intellect and deepness and richness as a person. He had the bravery to state his mind no matter where he was or what the subject was (his war with Balestre and interview after winning the 91 WDC come to mind). When you watch interviews of him in public and also at his home you were struck with the philosophical deepness of the man, matched to a superior intelligence. To me the loss of the MAN, eclipsed the loss of a supremely gifted driver... Frank
I was 14 at the time. I didnt watch the race as I wasnt allowed to stay up late a night. But I remember seeing the footage on the news and it was very, very sad! +27!!
The relative safety of current racing is most welcome. When I started following racing in the late '60s there were several deaths a year, though not all in F1. (Consider the horrible period in 1968 when Clark, Spence, Scarfiotti and Schlesser all died almost exactly one month apart from each other.) By the time I started going to races in 1975 the toll had been reduced to approximately one per year, but that was still too much. Fortunately the number of fatalities dropped significantly after 1982, and I attribute much of that to the advent of carbon-fiber chassis. But we must never get complacent about safety.
I think a marshall was killed during a race at Melbourne in the early 2000s as well (JV's big crash). RIP Senna and Ratzenberger, its a shame we lost them but the sport is a lot safer now as a result.
In a way, Senna's and Roland's death ultimately saved so many lives. They only got more serious about drivers safety when Senna died.
What? The stat is ACCURATE - it is 'a listing of drivers killed in F1 events', not a listing of F1 drivers killed in ALL events', the quote is exactly as advertised. Perhaps you need to find a list of all F1 drivers that have died, or died in racing, or died in a race or en route to a race? Just last week I read someone state 'Formula One driver mark Donohue'.... yes, he raced in F1 a FEW times, he is much more well-known for his Trans/Am, Can/Am and Indy car prowess, and the article didn't even state those three series at all!
