List of Formula One fatalities
In Formula One, safety standards have improved since the first World Championship Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1950, where there was no medical back-up or safety measures in case of an accident.[1] In the 1960s helmets and overalls became mandatory and the FIA assumed responsibility for safety at the circuits.[1] Further steps were taken to improve the safety of the Formula One car in the 1970s: the cockpit opening was enlarged allowing the driver quicker escape in the event of an accident and outside mirrors became mandatory.[2] In the 1980s the carbon fibre monocoque replaced aluminium, increasing protection upon impact.[3] Following the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994, a number of measures were introduced in an attempt to slow the cars down, including a wooden undertray. In 1998 grooved tyres replaced racing slick tyres to reduce cornering speed.[4] Safety measures continued to be introduced into the 21st century, with a number of circuits changing their configuration to improve driver safety.[5]
This list includes drivers who have died during a FIA World Championship race weekend, and those who have died while driving a Formula One car outside of the World Championship. Track marshals and other race attendees who have died as a result of these accidents are not included in the list. Fifty-one drivers have died driving a Formula One car, with Cameron Earl being the first in 1952. Thirty-two of the drivers died during Grand Prix race weekends which formed part of the World Championship, seven during test sessions and twelve during non-championship Formula One events. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has seen the most fatalities; seven drivers have died there during the time that the Indianapolis 500 formed part of the world championship. Fifteen drivers died in the 1950s; fourteen in the 1960s; twelve in the 1970s; four in the 1980s and two in the 1990s. Following the deaths of Ratzenberger and Senna in 1994, there were no driver fatalities during world championship events for more than 20 years until Jules Bianchi's death in 2015, from injuries sustained during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.[6][note 1]
Only two Formula One Champions have died while racing or practising in Formula One, Jochen Rindt in 1970, and Ayrton Senna in 1994. Rindt is the only driver to win the championship posthumously.[10]
Fatalities
Indicates a race or test drive that was not part of the Formula One World Championship. |
By nationality
Nationality | Total |
---|---|
United Kingdom | 14 |
United States | 10 |
Italy | 7 |
Austria | 4 |
France | 4 |
Germany | 2 |
Argentina | 1 |
Australia | 1 |
Belgium | 1 |
Brazil | 1 |
Canada | 1 |
Mexico | 1 |
Netherlands | 1 |
Rhodesia and Nyasaland | 1 |
Sweden | 1 |
Switzerland | 1 |
By circuit
Circuit | Total | First | Most recent |
---|---|---|---|
Indianapolis Motor Speedway | 7 | 1953 | 1959 |
Nürburgring | 5 | 1954 | 1969 |
Silverstone Circuit | 4 | 1960 | 2014 |
Modena Autodrome | 3 | 1953 | 1961 |
Brands Hatch | 1961 | 1977 | |
Autodromo Nazionale Monza | 1961 | 1978 | |
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | 2 | 1960 | 1960 |
Circuit Park Zandvoort | 1970 | 1973 | |
Watkins Glen | 1973 | 1974 | |
Kyalami | 1974 | 1977 | |
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari | 1994 | 1994 | |
MIRA | 1 | 1952 | |
Pau Circuit | 1955 | ||
Reims-Gueux | 1958 | ||
Ain-Diab Circuit | 1958 | ||
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez | 1962 | ||
Westmead Circuit | 1962 | ||
Circuit de Monaco | 1967 | ||
Rouen-Les-Essarts | 1968 | ||
Österreichring | 1975 | ||
Hockenheimring | 1980 | ||
Circuit Zolder | 1982 | ||
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve | 1982 | ||
Circuit Paul Ricard | 1986 | ||
Goodwood Hillclimb | 2000 | ||
Autodrom Most | 2002 | ||
Suzuka Circuit | 2014 |
Notes
- ↑ Four drivers have died since 1994: John Dawson-Damer in 2000, Fritz Glatz in 2002, Denis Welch in 2014, and Jules Bianchi in 2015. The first three drivers died while driving historic Formula One cars outside of World Championship Grands Prix, while Bianchi died as a result of injuries sustained in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.[7][8][9]
- 1 2 3 4 5 From 1950 to 1960, the Indianapolis 500 was part of the World Drivers' Championship.[12]
- ↑ Ayulo died on May 17, 1955, the day after his accident.[13]
- ↑ Lewis-Evans died of burns on October 25, 1958, six days after his accident.[13]
- ↑ Unser Jr. died of burns on May 17, 1959, fifteen days after his accident.[13]
- ↑ Bristow and Stacey died in separate accidents.[13]
- ↑ Unable to slow down his car because of technical failure, Cabianca drove through an open gate onto an adjoining public road where he hit several vehicles. Cabianca was killed along with three other people.[19]
- ↑ Von Trips and fifteen spectators died as a result of the crash. This is the deadliest F1 Grand Prix accident that includes fatalities of non-drivers.[20]
- ↑ Godin de Beaufort died on August 2, 1964, the day after his accident.[23]
- ↑ Taylor died of fifty per cent burns on September 8, 1966, thirty-two days after his accident.[24]
- ↑ Bandini died on May 10, 1967, three days after his accident.[25]
- ↑ Donohue died on August 19, 1975, two days after his accident. Manfred Schaller, a track marshal who had been hit by debris, succumbed the same day.[35]
- ↑ Frederick Jansen van Vuuren, a teenage volunteer safety marshal, was killed in the crash along with Pryce, who had collided with him at high speed.[36]
- ↑ Both McGuire and track marshall John Thorpe died in the accident.[37]
- ↑ Peterson died in hospital on September 11, 1978, the day after his accident, as a result of fat embolism.[38]
- ↑ De Angelis died on May 15, 1986, the day after his accident.[42]
- ↑ Dawson-Damer crashed into a gantry at the finish line, killing Andrew Carpenter, a marshall, and seriously wounding another. The 59-year-old driver may have suffered a fatal heart attack before losing control of his racer.[45]
- ↑ Bianchi remained comatose in hospital until he succumbed to his injuries on July 17, 2015, more than nine months after his accident.[6]
References
- 1 2 "The fifties and sixties". Formula 1. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012.
- ↑ "The seventies". Formula 1. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012.
- ↑ "The eighties". Formula 1. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012.
- ↑ "The nineties". Formula 1. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012.
- ↑ "The 21st century". Formula 1. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012.
- 1 2 3 DiZinno, Tony (July 17, 2015). "Jules Bianchi dies at age 25, his family confirms". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 Savill, Richard (June 26, 2000). "Brother of earl dies in Goodwood hill climb". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016.
- 1 2 "Most: Qualifying report". Motorsport.com. July 17, 2002. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012.
- 1 2 "Historic racer Denis Welch dies in Silverstone Classic accident". Autosport.com. July 28, 2014. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014.
- 1 2 Benson, Andrew (March 13, 2012). "Formula 1's Greatest Drivers. Number 20: Jochen Rindt". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Killed While Testing Racing Car". The Times. London. June 19, 1952. p. 4.
- ↑ "United States Grand Prix history". Formula 1. June 16, 2004. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Williamson, Martin. "Deaths in Formula One". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Charles de Tornaco". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 25, 2015.
- ↑ "XVI Grand Prix de Pau". Motor Sport. Teesdale Publishing. XXXI (5): 264–265. May 1955.
- ↑ Diepraam, Mattijs; Muelas, Felix. "The dashing Milanese that stayed young forever". Autosport. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012.
- ↑ "Silverstone '58 – Hawthorn & Collins' all-English affair". Formula 1. July 6, 2010. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Racing Driver Dies After Crash". The Times. London. June 2, 1961. p. 23.
- 1 2 "Four die in Italian race car crash". The Times. London. June 16, 1961. p. 13.
- ↑ "50 years ago today: F1's worst tragedy at Monza". f1fanatic. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015.
- ↑ Williams, Richard (September 5, 2011). "When motor racing really was a matter of life and death". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Ricardo Rodríguez". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015.
- ↑ Diepraam, Mattijs. "The last knight of Grand Prix racing". Autosport. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
- 1 2 "John Taylor". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015.
- 1 2 "Lorenzo Bandini". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016.
- ↑ "Bob Anderson". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Schlesser dies in experimental honda at Rouen". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Racing car death". The Times. London. May 26, 1970. p. 2.
- ↑ "Martin Brain". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
- ↑ Edworthy, Sarah (July 19, 2003). "Piers Courage lived life to the full and was tipped for GP greatness". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012.
- ↑ "Jo Siffert". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015.
- ↑ "François Cevert". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015.
- ↑ "Peter Revson". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016.
- ↑ Katz, Michael (October 7, 1974). "Driver Is Killed as Fittipaldi Wins Title at Watkins Glen". The New York Times. p. 45. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
- ↑ "Donohue dies after surgery". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. August 20, 1975.
- 1 2 "Plaque to commemorate F1 winner". BBC News. June 11, 2009. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012.
- 1 2 "News in Brief: Brands Hatch crash kills 2". The Times. London. August 30, 1977. p. 1.
- ↑ "Ronnie Peterson". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Formula 1's Greatest Drivers – 19 Ronnie Peterson". Autosport. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012.
- ↑ "Patrick Depailler". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015.
- ↑ Benson, Andrew (July 4, 2012). "Formula 1's greatest drivers. Number 12: Gilles Villeneuve". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Racer dies of crash injuries". Boca Raton News. May 16, 1986.
- ↑ "Elio de Angelis". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015.
- ↑ Benson, Andrew (April 21, 2004). "A death that shocked the world". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010.
- ↑ Harding, Thomas (June 27, 2000). "Driver 'died of heart attack before crash'". The Telegraph. London.
- ↑ "Fritz Glatz". GrandPrix.com. July 19, 2002. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012.
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