The Professor of life at the limit: a farewell to Dr. Sid Watkins

When we talk about Formula One, we think of unbridled speed, infinitely intricate mechanics, rocket-like cars, legendary tracks hosting thrilling races. The glitz, glamour and fanfare is heady, and often showered on the men behind the wheel, taming the mechanical beasts. But we must be mindful of what makes it possible, what makes them feel like they can take those risks every other weekend, what makes them feel – safe. Safety is paramount today, and the advances in safety standards have come a long way over the past two decades, the credit for which goes cheifly to a man the Formula One world knew as ‘The Professor’. He was Dr. Sid Watkins, a neurosurgeon by qualification, and a life saver for a number of people, including Formula One aces like Mika Hakkinen, Rubens Barrichello, Martin Donnelly, Gerhard Berger and Frank Williams. Yet, his most famous acquaintances remain a few of the ones that got away: Gilles Villeneuve, Ayrton Senna. He passed away at the age of 84. Here’s a tribute to the great man:

Life before F1

During his formative years, Sid Watkins had worked hands-on with his father in his garage, repairing bicycles and motor vehicles. During his graduation, he had conducted research on the effects of heat stress on performance, finding that increased heat greatly affected intellectual performance. A tenure with the military in Africa, and a stint as professor of Neurosurgery in the States came and went before he returned to England, and was eventually pulled into F1 by Bernie Ecclestone himself, in 1978.

Early F1 years

The Prof’s first brush with Motorsport safety was during his involvement with speedway tracks, which later graduated into running the safety and medical operations at the British Grand Prix, then held at Brands Hatch. Ecclestone got him on board with the Formula One establishment in 1978, at a time when medevac wasn’t even a thought. Medical Centers were makeshift huts, and on-call hospitals weren’t much to talk about either, let alone the modern facilities like air pick-ups and immediate evacuations. Dr. Watkins’ body of work started from ground zero, level zero. The stern support offered by Bernie Ecclestone was of major aid as it firmly emphasized driver safety for the first time. Accidents and injuries were still a very matter-of-fact phenomenon. However, when Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari crashed at Zolder in 1982, it was a big big shock. Dr. Watkins was the man who put a tube down Villeneuve’s throat to keep him alive until he could be hospitalized. He was there when Villeneuve had to be taken off life support. Later that year, when Riccardo Paletti’s car crashed and caught fire on the first lap, Prof. Watkins was at the scene within 16 seconds, battling against the fire in an attempt to save the fatally wounded Paletti.

Association with Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna, in particular was very close to the Prof., who was like a father figure for the Brazilian great. There are numerous anecdotes about their interactions, of which the ones regarding Martin Donelly’s crash at Spa and their exchange after Ratzenberger’s fatal crash at Imola during that fateful 1994 weekend are the most talked about. As is vividly documented in the film ‘Senna’, while returning from the crash site, a pensive Dr. Watkins had said to a very visibly disturbed Senna that he had already accomplished a lot, he was the fastest driver around, and that it was probably time to walk away. That he would also retire and they could just go fishing. To which Senna had fatefully replied, that there are some things over which we have no control, and that he couldn’t quit. He had to go on. It was ironic, that it was the same man whom he had to attend to after the fateful crash.

The Motor Racing World probably wouldn’t have got the chance to celebrate Senna’s genius though, had it not been for a witty quip from the Professor, to Peter Warr, the Lotus team principal in 1985. Senna was in his first year at Lotus, had contracted Bell’s Palsy, a condition caused by swelling of facial nerves. A possible complication was an inability to shut his eyelid, which could have meant forcibly suturing it to avoid long term damage to the eye. When contacted by Warr regarding his concern over Senna recovering in time for the racing season, the Professor had quipped, “Don’t you think it is better if racing drivers keep both their eyes open?” His reputation, and confidence in Senna’s recovery was probably what convinced Lotus to wait, and the rest is history.

Contribution to modern F1 safety standards

That 1994 Imola weekend changed F1 for ever. A lot of misconceptions about safety in F1 were deeply shattered by the three accidents that happened. Rubens Barrichello survived, Ratzenberger and Senna didn’t, and the motor racing world took the issue of safety with the due seriousness that it should have. Prof. Watkins was named Chairman of the expert Advisory Group of Formula One, with a mandate to bother with no restraints on the safety front. What followed were simple, yet impactful changes. Prof. Watkins headed a team of scientists carefully chosen, to analyze everything from chassis design, crash resistance, to drivers’ biomechanics and even circuit design. The results trickled in gradually: widened seatblets, hightened cockpit sides, better padding on the inside of the cockpit and monocoque, stronger materials and extremely stringent validation for the monocoque integrity, collapsible steering columns, all step-by-step contributing to a much safer environment. The HANS [Head And Neck Safety] device that we see the drivers wear on their shoulders these days comes as a product of the chain reaction that started under, and was catalysed by Prof. Watkins. To put things in perspective, this research and responsibility was undertaken by a man in his 70s, an age when most would be content to count their days in the sunshine. It was this dedication and this care for everyone involved that endeared The Professor so much to all the Formula One fraternity. During the course of his involvement with motor racing, he authored two books: Life at the limit, and Beyond Limits. The fact that 1994 was the last fatality in an F1 car is a testament to the standards achieved by his work.

With his passing, a stalwart of the world of Formula One has departed, leaving behind scores of eternally grateful eyes. We take this chance to pay our respects to the man who Professed the value of life at the limit, and beyond it. Salute to Prof. Sid Watkins.