F1 Car Crashes: Need for Speed, Burnt Rubber, and Death in Formula 1

Scores of Formula 1 pilots have lost their lives to the sport since the inception of the highest class of single-seat auto racing competition. A majority of the worst F1 crashes and tragedies befell the brave motor sport pioneers between 1950s and late 1970’s, when Formula 1 was still new to the world.

Every flaming crash, every lost life — a learning experience.

Is it madness that motivates F1 motor sports enthusiasts to risk everything on the track? Is it some hidden trait of character that we all have, but that manifests more in some than in others? Or is it simply their need for speed, the smell of burnt rubber across the wet asphalt, adrenaline going thump-thump-thump in their temples as they ace one turn after the other, sliding into perfect angles before accelerating to 369 kilometers an hour?

We can imagine that the answer would be as complex as the question, and that there would be as many different answers as there are pilots. For some it would be about winning. For others — about racing, or driving like nobody ever dared to drive before. Formula 1 pilots are often seen as nearly-superhuman given their lightning-fast reflexes, cool composure, and focus in the face of death at high speeds.

In the below video, you can check out the top 5 overtakes of the last 5 years, courtesy of the official YouTube channel of Formula 1:

All together, 79 people have been killed in fatal F1 car crashes in over 60 years of the motor sport’s existence. According to sources, the fatalities count is as follows:

• 1950 – 1955, 10 drivers died
• 1956 – 1960, 20 drivers died
• 1961 – 1965, 6 drivers died
• 1966 – 1970, 18 drivers died
• 1971 – 1975, 10 drivers died
• 1976 – 1980, 3 drivers died
• 1981 – 1985, 5 drivers died
• 1986 – 1990, 2 drivers died
• 1991 – 1995, 3 drivers died
• 1996 – Today, 4 drivers died

It’s hardly a surprise that the majority of the worst F1 car crashes happened in the first few decades of Formula 1. Same like with airplane safety, as tragic as these fatal crashes are, each tragedy improves the safety precautions the organizer take to protect the people involved.

Below, you can see how risky this sport can be for yourself :

F1 racing is not easy, and it’s lethally dangerous, but it’s the people who do what others think is impossible, the people who can face their fears head-on, who often change the world for the better.

Maybe this is why we love Formula 1.

Feature image: Reuters