Mayra Madrigal
Throughout history, several F1 drivers have died on track in tragic accidents that have shocked the world. It is well known that motor racing is a risky sport due to several factors, but the main one is the speed at which the single-seaters run and turn. The rules of the sport itself and of the category, as well as the circuits, have also played a role, as some of them are too dangerous.
There are 42 F1 drivers who have passed away from 1953 to 2014, but here are the five Formula 1 drivers who died racing and had the most impactful and tragic deaths of all time.
1. Ayrton Senna
The death of Brazilian Ayrton Senna is undoubtedly one of the most remembered in the world of sports. He had a really successful career in Formula 1, where he was world champion three times, and no one could have imagined that his passion would lead him to his death.
On May 1, 1994, the San Marino Grand Prix was held at Imola, and Senna was driving for Williams Racing. That GP started accidentally, and the Safety Car had to come in; on lap 7 when it was resumed, Senna tried to take the Tamburello turn, but failed and crashed into the retaining wall, at an estimated speed of 218 km/h. Medical assistance arrived, and he was taken to a hospital, but it was later reported that the driver died.
2. Elio de Angelis
The Italian was a Formula 1 racer between 1979 and 1986, racing for teams such as Shadow, Lotus, and Brabham. He died on May 15, 1986, while testing the Brabham BT55 model at the Paul Ricard circuit at Le Castellet in France. He achieved two victories in his Formula 1 career, in addition to nine podium finishes and three pole positions. He won the Austrian GP in 1982 and the San Marino GP in 1985. He recorded 122 points in his F1 career.
3. Jules Bianchi
Born on August 3, 1989, in Nice, France, Bianchi was one of the most promising drivers on the circuit and even signed a contract with Marussia. However, he tragically passed away in July 2015, almost nine months after suffering a terrible accident at the Suzuka Grand Prix in 2014. He was the first driver to die in a race since the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994.
4. Lorenzo Bandini
The Italian driver was participating with Ferrari in the Monaco Grand Prix in 1967. He had done a great job and was placed in second position, but with 19 laps to go, he lost control of the car, which overturned and caught fire with the driver inside. Although they managed to get him out of the car alive, the Italian was severely burned and died three days later.
5. Roland Ratzenberger
The Austrian driver died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, one day before the death of Brazilian racing legend Ayrton Senna at the same circuit. Ratzenberger was driving the Simtek-Ford car and during the qualifying stage he took the Villeneuve curve at more than 300 km/h, the front wing came off and lost grip, causing the car to crash into a retaining wall. When the emergency services intervened, they found that the driver was dead; it was later learned that the cause of death was a fracture of the base of the skull due to the impact.
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