Safety first

Racecar looks at the advances made in safety across all motorsport disciplines, and its wider application to society as a whole

- DIETER RENCKEN

During Formula 1’s formative years, the sport’s protagonists generally adopted cavalier approaches to safety. Contemporary photographs of Ferrari’s first world championship Grand Prix winner, Froilan Gonzales, show him racing to victory in the 1951 British Grand Prix in short sleeves, head topped by a yellow helmet bearing two rows of holes – the Argentine punched these into his ‘half lid’ to provide a modicum of cooling.

Fast forward a decade and standards were a little better. The 1961-’65 Formula 1 regulations include the following paragraphs: ‘Protection against fire: The car shall be equipped with a general circuit-breaker either operating automatically or under the control of the driver.’ Continuing; ‘A fastening system for a safety belt shall be provided, the belt itself being optional.’

It all sounds extremely courageous, if exceedingly naïve, but the fact is such behaviour simply could not continue, as Sir Jackie Stewart regularly relates. At the height of his career, he and wife, Helen, tried to recall the number of friends they had lost to motor racing over the years. ‘We stopped counting when we got to 50,’ he said, adding, ‘People call that era ‘the good old days’, but they were the bad old days…’

Nevertheless, the triple world champion continued racing, vowing to make racing safer. Not particularly difficult given that ‘safety barriers’ at some venues comprised straw bales, trees lined the circuits, crowd control was zero and seldom were ambulances even on standby. Medical facilities? The closest hospital, even if it was an hour away by unmade road. Incredible as it seems 50 years on, the Scot received nothing but scorn for his efforts at the time.