(Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
“You accept the fact that Formula One is totally futile and stupid and still you carry on, because what is out there on the track is so exhilarating for the selfish man behind the wheel.” - Jackie Stewart
“Jimmy ranked with, perhaps even out-ranked, Nuvolari, Fangio and Moss, and I think we all felt he was in a way invincible. To be killed in an accident with a Formula Two car is almost unacceptable” - Bruce McLaren
“That year of 1968 was horrific, with a driver being killed on or about the seventh of each month. On the seventh day of each month you weren’t keen to go out in the car.” - Chris Amon
“We all get scared, but I get scared that something will happen with the car. It’s the cars that break, not the drivers.” - Jochen Rindt
“I worshipped the guy. He was totally adorable. Everybody in motor racing turned out for his funeral. And there were plenty of red eyes from the hard guys.” - Frank Williams
“I was trying to get people to help me, and if I could have turned the car over he would have been alright.” - David Purley
“Francois had become part of our little family His enthusiasm and character were such that he sort of lightened our lives. He was always outgoing and there was a sparkle about him. The loss of Francois must have been close to losing a son.” - Ken Tyrell
“It makes me extremely angry when we lose drivers of the calibre of Tom. People do not listen enough to the drivers, yet we are the ones who take the greatest risk.” - James Hunt
“Hello Gilles: I still cannot believe that you are no more… I did not know Nuvolari but I will talk to my daughter with pride about you. I will be able to tell her that I delighted in you and cried for you.
"I have within me the sense of infinite emptiness that I feel nothing will be able to fill except with my tears. I hope that up there you have found a circuit and when the starting light is green, go Gilles.”
“Roland was just a great, great guy. He’d be top of the list if you were going out for a drink with the boys.” - Nick Wirth
“There is not a driver in the world who will not be shocked and deeply affected by the terrible news.” - Nigel Mansell
These comments, along with others not mentioned are witness to the losses in Formula One. Formula One and death have gone hand in hand for decades, yet in over 15 years F1 has not had a fatality in racing, testing, or qualifying.
The lack of death on the track is proof that Formula 1 has become a very safe sport, and its record has been unmatched by the large series; INDY and NASCAR have been struck by deaths more recently.
F1 does still have its accidents. Silverstone 1999, Montreal 2007, Hungaroring 2009 are all proof of how safe F1 has become. Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica, Mark Webber, Felipe Massa are just a few of the recent F1 drivers that have been through an accident and lived to either race, walk, or live since the time of their experience.
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