Motor racing has the shadow of death looming large over it at all times. However, Formula 1 has come a long way from its inaugural season in 1950, and can be considered amongst the safest motorsort series today.
Very recently, 22-year-old Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert lost his life during a crash at the Belgian Grand Prix. Just a day after his passing, all the 20 F1 drivers took to their cars and participated in the race, on the same track. That decision was comparatively easier than it would have been during the 70s, courtesy of the advances made in F1 safety over the years. In fact, Formula 1 has never been safer than it is today.
When F1 came into being, it was the risk, danger and fear that made it palpable as well as exciting. Up until the mid-90s, death always used to be on the cards – it was part of the sport's DNA back then. And that made it exciting for the punters too. It is worth noting that even though F1 is not amongst the top sports betting markets of the world, it does enjoy a huge fan following everywhere, even today when safety is a top priority.
50s and 60s were the worst
The 50s and 60s were the worst in terms of F1 accidents. While on one hand, the F1 cars were constantly touching speeds of 250 km/h, on the other, driver safety wasn’t given much attention, in the name of pushing the boundaries and bravado.
The tyres back then used to be around one-third in width that we see today, meaning less grip. There were no tyre walls, gravel traps and run-off areas around the tracks, to minimise the impact of moves gone bad. The races held in Europe would often involve tracks that would pass through forests, meaning that it would take a considerably longer time for any help to arrive. The drivers often didn’t wear helmets and when they did, they were often poorly designed and featured an open face. They didn’t wear seat belts either, opting to be thrown off at a high speed rather than getting trapped in an inferno, as cars often burst into flames – that rarely happens now thanks to kevlar fuel tanks.
With fatalities rising, F1 started paying more attention to safety matters. All related aspects including track design, car design, driver gear, were impacted. Nowadays, F1 cars are far safer, more reliable and stable than ever. A good example of the change in F1’s attitude toward safety is the number of retirements in the F1 races, owing to technical reasons.
Ferrari is the only F1 team to have endured all the travails
Ferrari is the only Formula 1 team that has been in F1 racing throughout its 70 year long history. They have lost seven drivers in total, which is more than any F1 team. Six of those fatalities came from 1950 to 1961, and the seventh was that of Gilles Villeneuve, the popular Canadian driver, in 1982. Even though Ferrari lost a lot of drivers during the 50s, that decade wasn’t its worst in terms of its technical challenges and accidents. Their accident count was even worse than the 50s during the decade from 1986 to 1996.
The data for the last decade reveals that it’s the lower and middle rung teams that are more accident-prone. For instance, the accident rate of both Renault and Alfa Romeo is more than 10%.
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