I haven't seen it yet but I'm watching it later tonight, just thought I'd point you all in its direction if you weren't aware of it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00z8v18/Grand_Prix_The_Killer_Years/
I urge you all to watch this. It's a terrifying but brilliant reminder of how far this sport has come. Roger Williamson's demise was harrowing.
What were we all thinking about, and we used to love watching GP motor racing, looking back I feel sad at being part of it, it was a criminal waste of life ! Thank God, Stewart stuck to his principles, we thought he was overly active on the safety issues, how bloody wrong we were.
The sport will never be fully safe, there has been a few near misses recently, they may not seem it but when you think about it they are: Massa at hungry, What if it had hit him full on the visor? Schumacher at Abu Dhabi, almost got hit in the face by the Force india. A few years ago (2007?), was it Coulthard that t-boned someone (Wurz) at AUS on turn 3, went over the top, narrowly missing their head. Kubica in Canada, when his car stopped his feet could be seen.
And also Henry Surtees who was hit by a stray wheel at Brands in Formula 2, the weekend after Massa had his accident at Hungary
You can't make the sport fully safe, especially when the cockpits are open, but every year new regulations try to reduce the risks. The tyre tethers have doubled in number this year to stop the tyres flying off as much. The difference now is that safety is very much at the forefront of everyone's thoughts. The safety cell in the car is now incredibly strong and resistant to damage, but there will always be accidents and failures. The Schumacher one at Abu Dhabi for me just shows the inherent danger of the sport. If that Force India had hit Schumacher's helmet, that would have been it. No technology could have possibly protected him there. No material is strong enough, and the human body can only cope with so much force, despite that limit constantly being pushed. That film just highlights the shocking history of the sport, thank god changes were made, even if they were 20 years too late for many.
That was incredibly sad. Roger Williamson's accident was horrifying. Seeing John Surtees talking also brought a lump to my throat, this couldn't have been filmed all that long after Henry's tragic death. Thank god the sport is safe now, I couldn't bear waiting to see if a driver has survived after a heavy shunt. I think one thing that has to change though is the high noses the cars have now, it makes it increasingly likely that cars will slide over each other (like Coulthard-Wurz), which apart from being struck by debris, is the only major threat these days.
Very important for any true motor sport fan to see this; particularly the younger ones who will have little idea of the realities of what F1 was built upon. Really, this is one of the most important perspectives you'll ever get… Rest in Peace all those who perished making this thing we all love…
Cosi, they were dangerous times, this item shows the reality and the brutality of this particular sport during that period. I was actually at Brands in 71 when Siffert lost his life, a truly horrible moment and unnecessary, as really the meeting was a non championship event. I'm struggling with just how we actually loved F1 so much during those times, it seems now as if we were spectating and enjoying an almost gladiatorial sport, nowadays, thankfully it would be impossible to stage such events. But, thinking about it, some of these historic series F1 events use the same hardware so maybe the risks remain
Slightly off topic but, Was at a rally 2 years ago and a car flipped when it hit the inside of a corner and it ended up upside down on the track. Before My friend and I got in front of the scene to flag the cars to slow down a following car came round the blind corner and hit the upside down car. There was next to no damage inside either of the cars and the two drivers and two co pilots walked away with little more than bruises. Not that long ago the outcome could, and most probably would have been far different. The cars are very strong now and safety is thought about from car design through to track design. We must not forget how dangerous motorsport still is though.
Bright: Yes, the sport is much safer now, the greater danger at most meetings I have been to recently seems to affect the spectator or the marshalls more than the drivers, perhaps the entire motor sport risk elements need to be reassessed. The whole safety thing is an emotive issue, because the danger element adds to the thrill of motorsport and of course it simply cannot be made 100% safe whilst projectiles are circulating at speeds of 200mph and people are stood watching behind a relatively flimsy wire fence within feet of the track. Just remember the height the cars reach when they take off, its simply a matter of time before we get another Le Mans incident, I hate sitting in the stands at the Silverstone Start straight, in fact I prefer to watch from the trackside banking.
I echo your thoughts Ernie but the stand you're referring to is really very safe; a far cry from the horrors of Le Mans '55 and some of the ghastly stuff afterwards.
Buemi's crash in China was quite shocking, the way one of his tyres flew over the catchment fence and almost took out a camera man. It was probably that accident that prompted the FIA to revise the rules on tyre tethers, thankfully deaths don't have to occur these days for the message to get through. There's some great responses to this by the way, cheers.
I'm sure you are correct about the Silverstone stand being very safe, its just I did not feel very safe and I've stood in the new Le Mans stand opposite the pits and I didn't feel safe there either. Maybe its just my paranoia !
Well, the programme was extremely thought provoking to say the least and one could not avoid being affected by the slaughter of those guys, so its not suprising its raised awarenes and associated responses, lets hope the good work continues.
Totally agree, the sport is still very dangerous but masked by the slight fourtune in these incidents. Also dont forget Webbers Valencia crash last year!
