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11-16-2010, 08:59 PM
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32 Years of Formula-1 Deaths
1.)Ratzenberger Ratzenberger was killed during qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix at the Imola circuit on Saturday 30 April 1994. He went off-track on the previous lap, damaging his front wing, but rather than come into the pits he continued since he was competing for the final grid spot. The high speed on the back straight, and therefore high wind pressure, finally broke the wing off, sending it under Ratzenberger's car. His car failed to turn into the Villeneuve Corner and struck the outside wall at 195.68 mph ![]() ![]() 2.)Villeneuve On May 8, 1982, Villeneuve died after an accident during the final qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. At the time of the crash, Pironi had set a time 0.1s faster than Villeneuve for sixth place. Villeneuve was using his final set of qualifying tyres, which were probably already past their best, and many writers say that he was attempting to improve his time on his final lap. Some suggest that he was specifically aiming to beat Pironi. However, Villeneuve's biographer Gerald Donaldson quotes Ferrari race engineer Mauro Forghieri as saying that the Canadian, although pressing on in his usual fashion, was returning to the pits when the accident occurred. If so, he would not have set a time on that lap. 3.)Depallier He was killed testing for the (1980) German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, when a suspension failure pitched his car into the armco at the high-speed Ostkurve, inflicting fatal head injuries when the vehicle overturned and vaulted the barrier. The Alfa Romeo skidded along the top of the guard rail for several hundred feet prior to flipping onto its top. ![]() 4.)Paletti (1982)Due to the force of the severe impact, Paletti sustained heavy chest injuries and was lying unconscious in his car, wedged against the steering wheel. Didier Pironi and Sid Watkins, the FIA's head doctor, were on the scene in a matter of seconds to stabilise and assist Paletti. As Watkins climbed over the wreckage of the Osella, the petrol that had leaked from the fully loaded car's ruptured fuel tank ignited, enveloping the car in a wall of fire. The heavy fire took a while to extinguish with Pironi spurring the marshals on to keep the flames away from the unconscious Paletti, who was still in the Osella. When the fire was finally put out, the critically injured Paletti was without a pulse. ![]() 5.)Peterson The (1978) Italian Grand Prix at Monza started badly for Peterson. In practice he damaged his Lotus 79 race car beyond immediate repair and bruised his legs in the process. Team Lotus possessed a spare 79, but it had been constructed for Andretti, and the taller Peterson was unable to fit comfortably inside. The team's only other car was a type 78, the previous year's car, which had been dragged around the F1 circuit that season with minimal maintenance. ![]() 6.)Senna (1994)On Friday, during the afternoon qualifying session, Senna's protégé Rubens Barrichello was involved in a serious accident when he slammed violently into the tyres at the Variante Bassa chicane, swallowing his tongue and suffering a broken nose and arm, which prevented him from competing in the race. |