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Formula 1 Accidents
Formula 1 Accidents
Even for professional drivers with years of experience, it is still challenging to drive and control a supercar exceeding 200 mph. A high-octane sport like Formula One comes with it’s own set of challenges –out of which the greatest will definitely be the threat it poses to human life. Formula One drivers acquire the skills needed to control these rebellious horses through the years, but they are always at risk of accidents and injuries.
Throughout history, hundreds of accidents have occurred in F1 racing. Thanks to high-end engineering, new tech, and materials science, the risk of fatalities in Formula One has been reduced, and drivers can drive with more ease, but that hasn't changed a lot for accident stats. Let's analyze the accidents by countries first and then by decades.
The adjacent Cloudplot shows accident-prone circuits. The bigger the size and darker the color, the circuit had the most accidents since Formula 1 started in 1950. The countries where most of the races have been held have higher chances of accidents. As one can see in the graph, the top 3 countries are Monaco, Monza, and Spa are from the European region. Which makes sense as we have seen in Circuit & Races that most of the races are held by countries in the European region.
Safety standards have improved since the first World Championship Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1950, where there were no medical backup or safety measures in case of an accident. It was not until the 1960s these were first introduced, as helmets and overalls became mandatory and the FIA assumed responsibility for safety at the circuits. Steps were taken to improve the safety of the Formula One car in the 1970s; the cockpit opening was enlarged allowing the driver to escape more quickly in the event of an accident and outside mirrors became mandatory.
The 1980 saw further improvement in the structure of the Formula One car, with the monocoque being made out of carbon fiber instead of aluminium, increasing protection upon impact. Following the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, a number of measures were introduced in an attempt to slow the cars down, including bodywork aerodynamic limitations, a pit lane speed limit, and temporary circuit modifications such as extra chicanes. Grooved tyres were introduced in 1998 instead of racing slick tyres to reduce cornering speed. Safety measures continued to be introduced into the 21st century, with a number of circuits having their configuration changed to improve driver safety.
The adjacent Barplot shows the actual number of accidents throughout the decades. As we can see, Monaco, Monza, and Spa had accidents in every decade. Accidents can be analyzed over decades via the "decade timeline" and overall accidents can be seen at the end. Monaco, Moza, and Spa as expected are the top 3 countries with the most accidents with 57, 42, and 35 accidents respectively.
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