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F1 has always been a sport about speed. With that high speed comes the imminent degree of danger, something that the sport seems to be covered with, despite all of the safety measures that have been taken throughout history.
Currently, the cars in Formula 1 are fitted with safety features such as the halo, a roll bar to protect drivers during a roll-over condition, and something that was introduced rather recently, a change in the placement of the fuel tank inside the cars.
But why? The only answer is to prevent cars from catching fire during a crash because of the fuel that pumps through.
It is apparent that avoiding a crash in F1 is almost impossible. From rookie drivers to experienced legends, all make errors sometimes and inevitably crash, sometimes a small one, but sometimes huge ones.
Fire-related crashes in the history of F1
Some of the crashes, especially the ones from back in the day, saw the cars being engulfed in flames because of the rather concerning safety precautions that were used in the sport earlier. Few drivers were lucky enough to be safe, but others were not so. Here are five of the most devastating crashes in F1 history when the cars caught fire.
#1 Lorenzo Bandini - Monaco Grand Prix, 1967
Bandini was an Italian driver who drove for Ferrari for the longest time in his Formula 1 career. His driving was decent and was well-known in the racing world.
During the Monaco GP of 1967, tragedy struck him as he hit his Ferrari's left rear tire while entering Chicane du Port (now known as the Nouvelle Chicane). He swerved off into the wall next to the port and his car was engulfed in flames after his fuel tank was ruptured. His car was overturned, but Bandini was pulled out by the marshalls, following which, a second fire erupted.
He had 70 percent third-degree burns all over his body, and three days later, passed away because of the injuries.
#2 Niki Lauda - German Grand Prix, 1976
Niki Lauda's infamous crash is one of the most well-known accidents in the history of F1. During the German GP on the Nurburgring in 1976 (a race for which Lauda opposed given the driving conditions), Lauda's Ferrari hit one of the most dangerous corners on the giant track. His car was almost instantly on fire, only to be hit by his fellow drivers.
He was pulled out in heroic action by three other drivers, one of whom was Arturo Merzario. Lauda survived the crash but had major burns on his head and inhaled toxic fumes.
His racing career seemed to have ended, but in surprising fashion, he returned to racing just six weeks after the crash, with his head bandaged. He finished second in the championship that season and lost by just a single point. He later went on to become a three-time world champion.
#3 Ronnie Peterson - Italian Grand Prix, 1978
There were multiple reasons that could be attributed to Ronnie Peterson's crash in Monza, in 1978. The start light sequence was done a little too quickly, while the cars at the back of the grid were still lining up, making them jump-start the race (back then there was a red light followed by green to start a race). This made them squeeze into the first corner of the circuit, hit the barriers and come back on the track, engulfed in flames.
Although Peterson was rather safe after the crash, he was taken to the hospital and suffered 27 fractures. While his life seemed to be out of danger, his condition worsened at night because of a fat embolism and suffered kidney failure, and unfortunately succumbed to death the following morning.
#4 Jos Verstappen - German Grand Prix, 1994
During the German GP of 1994, Jos Verstappen, whose son Max Verstappen is leading the world championship in 2023, escaped a fatal incident during the race. He came into the pits with a little over 30 laps left in the race and his car was being refuelled and a little bit of the fuel splashed over his heating Benetton.
His entire car was engulfed in flames almost instantly. However, narrowly escaped the fire with only slight burns.
Interestingly, F1 did not ban refilling until 2010 despite multiple incidents regarding it that took place.
#5 Romain Grosjean - Bahrain Grand Prix, 2020
Romain Grosjean's crash during the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix is perhaps one of the most dramatic crashes in the recent history of F1. Right after the start of the race, he made contact with Daniil Kvyat and went into the barriers out of the second corner. His car hit the barrier, split into two, and he went through the barriers after his entire Haas turned into a big fireball.
In a surprising turn of events, he was seen climbing out of the fireball merely 20 seconds after the crash, and even though he went through the barriers, he was safe and only suffered burns on his hands.
Roman retired from F1 post that season, but it showed how F1 has been made extremely safe all over the years and continues to do so.
