That is for me an example of the saftey now. It is true that in a horror crash you could die. But take Webbers crash and put it into a few decades ago and i think there is no could about it.
Stewart has been ridiculed by some who should know better and is still being criticised, all I know is F1 could still be in a very dark place if it were not for the efforts of the likes of JYS.
Bandini's charred remains being pulled from the car is far and away the most grisly and disturbing footage. How can one view those images and accept it as some kind of normality. Crazy!
Yes, that was very gruesome, racing a car is just not worth that, its only a sport after all, pointless.
Very pointless, and tragic it was allowed to happen. Its also a shame that it takes a documentary like this to remind people (including myself) of the horror the sport used to be. I think often its swept under the carpet a little too easily. I'd like to see more gestures of remembrance to some of these drivers who lost their lives - and not just the successful ones.
No-one races for this. People race for an idealised gladiatorial glory, and some can do it with honour can't they Schumacher? - After all these years, still prepared to put Barrichello at significant risk of death last year, simply to prevent an honourable overtake. (A wall is still the most likely factor in fatality at a race circuit). But those who do not appreciate the dangers are at a greater risk than the dishonourable. I hesitate to say this, but Gilles Villeneuve is perhaps one of the most poignant examples of fearlessness which everyone knew would kill him. It was just a matter of when, rather than if.
About to watch this video. Out of interest, has anyone ever seen the footage of a formula 1 car basically shredding a steward, who was also holding a fire extinguisher that hit the driver on the head and killed him? Horrible, it's banned on sites like youtube, except for very censored/blurred out versions. The guy's body was in pieces in different places of the track, they had to round up all the stewards to see who is missing to know who it was =/
Yes. Do you know that the driver was also killed instantly? The marshall's fire extinguisher bounced off Tom Pryce's helmet so hard it landed about 140 yards away in the crowd. I wish I knew the name of the marshall: all deaths are equal in things like this.
Are they cosicave? The marshall (god rest his soul) did a incredibly stupid thing and not only did he pay for it with his life so did Tom Pryce.
For those interested (not sure if thats the right word) theres a video (with blurring) that explains what happens here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3C_M5H9oe0&NR=1
Blimey, did anyone see this linked to that Tom Pryce video? That would shake you up a bit, especially if you happened to be riding the horse.
Jacky, you give the impression of being quick to judge others. I am not trying to apportion blame, even if what the marshal did was "stupid". Neither am I concerned about whether Pryce could have taken avoiding action or whether someone in the crowd (or another marshal) momentarily distracted either person. Details can be vital, but who knows every detail? In spite of at least one person's misjudgement, I firmly believe there was no intent. These were human beings and this was a tragic accident involving catastrophic human error. But that does not reduce the value of a life in my opinion. Incidentally, I firmly believe that Pryce was totally unable to avoid the marshal but I do not know for absolute certainty. - But this is beside the point. I'm talking about the value of a human life, not who was to blame.
I watched this last night. It's so easy to forget how unforgiving F1 once was. I was in tears by the closing scene.
SgtBhaji: I must admit I do now have trouble reconciling my acceptance of those times simply because I paid and spectated at every British GP from 71 to 94 plus a few at Monaco, knowing full well what could happen.
The only remembrance Jim Clarke gets is no longer close to the current Hockenheim circuit: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~garycr/2001/jim_clark_memorial/
The Beeb are spoiling us they really are. There's another documentary on iPlayer, I haven't seen it yet but if it's half as good as the last one it'll be worth watching. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00zwmh2/Formula_Ones_60th_Anniversary_Plus_Ca_Change/
The 60th Anniversary of F1lus Ca Change was actually followed by Grand Prix:The Killer Years on BBC4 last sunday....do try and keep up chaps. Killer Years ended with the obviously harrowing images of Purley trying in vain to rescue Williamson, for which he deservedly was awarded The George Medal. Before the credits, it stated that "no driver died in F1 during 1976" which I found sadly ironic, as the same year Lauda cheated death by surviving his awful crash at the imfamous Nurburgring. David Purley also survived a horrific crash in '77, during qualifying at Silverstone. " He survived an estimated 179.8gs when he decelerated from 173 km/h (108 mph) to 0 in a distance of 66 cm (26 inches) after his throttle got stuck wide open and he hit a wall.[3] For many years, this was thought to be the highest g-force ever survived by a human being.[3] He suffered multiple fractures to his legs, pelvis and ribs."
