Deadly crashed F1 drivers
Formula One has always been the pinnacle of motorsport, right from its inauguration in 1950. Along with its standing are also the dangers, and during the history many people have died during racing.
See here a list of all deadly crashed drivers that have competed at least once in the Formula One World Championship.
| 1950 | Joe Fry (GB) | Fry was killed at the wheel of the Freikaiserwagen at the 1950 Blandford hillclimb, less than two months after driving a Maserati 4CL in the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. |
| 1950 | Raymond Sommer (F) | In September 1950, he entered the Haute-Garonne Grand Prix in Cadours, France where the steering failed on his 1100cc Cooper and the car overturned at a corner. |
| 1952 | Luigi Fagioli (I) | Fagioli died during practice for a touring car race to be held as part of the Monaco Grand Prix. While his crash appeared minor at first, his internal unjuries were such that he died in hospital 3 weeks later. |
| 1953 | Charles de Tornaco (B) | In practice for the Modena Grand Prix in 1953, de Tornaco rolled his car and suffered serious head and neck injuries. He died on his way to the hospital. |
| 1953 | Felice Bonetto (I) | Hit a roadside pole when driving a Lancia on the Carrera Panamericana |
| 1954 | Guy Mairesse (F) | Killed in practice for the Coupe de Paris at Montlhéry in 1954 when he swerved to avoid another car and crashed into a concrete wall. |
| 1954 | Onofre Marimón (RA) | Crashed out with his Maserati on July 31, 1954 during qualifying for the 1954 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. |
| 1955 | Alberto Ascari (I) | Fatal crash at Monza, Italy while trying out a sports Ferrari. |
| 1955 | Pierre Levegh (F) | Levegh died in Le Mans disaster at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in it killing 82 spectators. |
| 1955 | Don Beauman (GB) | The weekend before the British Grand Prix, he was killed when he crashed during the Leinster Trophy race. |
| 1956 | Louis Rosier (F) | Louis Rosier died of injuries he sustained in a crash at the Montlhéry track, south of Paris, France, on 7 October 1956. |
| 1957 | Ken Wharton (GB) | Killed when he crashed driving a Ferrari Monza at the New Zealand circuit of Ardmore. |
| 1957 | Eugenio Castellotti (I) | He was killed at only 26 years old during a private Ferrari test session at the Modena Autodrome. |
| 1957 | Alfonso de Portago (E) | He and his co-driver Edmund Nelson were killed in a crash (on May 8th) in the 1957 Mille Miglia. |
| 1957 | Piero Carini (I) | Killed racing a Ferrari Testa Rossa sports car in the 1957 St-Etienne event. His car veered across the central barrier and collided head-on with a similar machine. |
| 1957 | Bill Whitehouse (GB) | He was killed in a Formula Two crash at the Reims Circuit driving a privately-entered Cooper T39. |
| 1957 | Herbert Mackay-Fraser (USA) | Killed after crashing his Lotus in the race that also had killed Bill Whitehouse. |
| 1958 | Archie Scott-Brown (GB) | Deadly injured on 18 May 1958 during an accident in a sports car race at Spa-Francorchamps. He died one day later in hospital, aged 31. |
| 1958 | Erwin Bauer (D) | Killed in a 2-litre sports Ferrari where, not realising he had passed the chequered flag, kept on racing and crashed fatally on what was supposed to be his slowing-down lap. |
| 1958 | Luigi Musso (I) | Deceased after an accident during the 1958 French Grand Prix at Reims, France. |
| 1958 | Peter Collins (GB) | Died in hospital after suffering major head injuries in an accident during the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. |
| 1958 | Peter Whitehead (GB) | Killed in a crash while competing in the Tour De France with his half-brother Graham Whitehead. Their Jaguar crashed off a bridge into a 30-foot ravine at Lasalle with Graham behind the wheel. |
| 1958 | Stuart Lewis-Evans (GB) | Lewis-Evans crashed heavily at the dusty Ain-Diab circuit during the season finale 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix. His Vanwall engine seized and sent him lurching into barriers at high speed, and his car burst into flames. He was airlifted back to the UK, but died in hospital of his burn injuries six days after the accident. |
| 1959 | Mike Hawthorn (GB) | After winning the 1958 Championship with just one point ahead of Stirling Moss, Hawthorn immediately announced his retirement from Formula One. A matter of only months later, on 22 January 1959, Hawthorn died in an automobile accident on the A3 bypass near Guildford driving his British Racing Green highly tuned Jaguar 3.4-litre sedan (now known as the 3.4 Mk 1). What happened that day is still unknown, suggested causes being driver error, mechanical failure, or blackout. |
| 1959 | Jean Behra (F) | Behra crashed out his Porsche on the banking of the AVUS ring, Berlin during the German Grand Prix. He was thrown out of the car, launched into the sky and after hitting a flagpole landed into the trees. Along with his fatal skull fracture most of his ribs were broken. |
| 1959 | Ivor Bueb (GB) | Bueb died from injuries sustained when he crashed his BRP Cooper-Borgward Formula Two car at Charade Circuit near Clermont-Ferrand, France. |
| 1960 | Harry Blanchard (USA) | Died when his Porsche sportscar overturned during the 1000 km Buenos Aires race. |
| 1960 | Ettore Chimeri (YV) | Deceased in hospital after crashing his Ferrari while practicing for the Gran Premio Libertad sports car race at the Camp Freedom military airfield near Havana, Cuba. |
| 1960 | Harry Schell (USA) | Schell died in practice for the non-championship International Trophy event at Silverstone in 1960, when he crashed his Cooper at Abbey Curve. |
| 1960 | Chris Bristow (GB) | He was killed during the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, in a gruesome accident at the Burnenville corner, in which he was decapitated, when the car rolled over. |
| 1960 | Alan Stacey (GB) | Stacey was killed during the Belgian Grand Prix, at Spa-Francorchamps, when he crashed at 120 mph (190 km/h). after being hit in the face by a bird on lap 25, while lying in sixth place with his Lotus. He died in close proximity and within minutes of Chris Bristow. |
| 1961 | Giulio Cabianca (I) | Cabianca died when at the Modena Autodrome test track after colliding with a taxi on a public road close just aside of the circuit. |
| 1961 | Wolfgang von Trips (D) | At the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, his Ferrari collided with Jim Clark's Lotus. His car became airborne and crashed into a side barrier, fatally throwing von Trips from the car, and killing fifteen spectators. |
| 1962 | Peter Ryan (USA) | During a heat of the Formula 2 Coupe de Vitesse des Juniors at Reims, Peter's Lotus was involved in a collision with the Gemini of Bill Moss. Ryan was thrown from his car and died from internal injuries. |
| 1962 | Ricardo Rodrigues (MEX) | Died in the first day of practice for the non-championship Mexican Grand Prix after crashing out heavily in the 180-degree peraltada corner. He was 20 and considered a possible future champion. |
| 1964 | Tim Mayer (USA) | |
| 1964 | Carel Godin de Beaufort (NL) | Died after an accident at the Nürburgring, during practice for the German Grand Prix. Driving the Porsche 718, the car suddenly veered off the track at the infamous Bergwerk corner. He was thrown out of the car and died three days later at a hospital in Cologne. |
| 1966 | Walt Hansgen (USA) | He was killed when he crashed a 7-liter Ford Mk2 sports car at the Le Mans tests during the spring of 1966. |
| 1966 | John Taylor (GB) | Taylor died following an accident at the German Grand Prix, when his Brabham collided with Jacky Ickx's Matra on the first lap of the race. He emerged from the wreckage badly burned, and died from his injuries four weeks later. |
| 1967 | Lorenzo Bandini (I) | Bandini was running second to Denny Hulme in the Monaco Grand Prix when he lost control of his Ferrari at the harbour. He sustained severe burns while being trapped in his upside down burning vehicle and succumbed to his injuries three days later at Princess Grace Polyclinic Hospital in Monte Carlo. |
| 1967 | Giacomo 'Geki' Russo (I) | Russo was killed in a tragic accident, going into a brick wall after hitting his colleague driver, Swiss Beat Behr. He was driving a Matra on the Caserta circuit. |
| 1967 | Bob Andersen (GB) | Anderson died of serious injuries from an accident during testing at Silverstone, in which he slid off the track in wet conditions and hit a marshal's post. He died in Northampton General Hospital. |
| 1967 | Georges Berger (B) | He was killed racing a Porsche 911 in the 1967 Marathon de la Route at Nürburgring. |
| 1967 | Ian Raby (GB) | Raby crashed heavily with his Brabham Lotus during an F2 event at Zandvoort at the end of July. He died from his injuries at the beginning of November. |
| 1968 | Jim Clark (GB) | Jim Clark, recognised by many as one of the best drivers F1 has ever seen, died tragically in a Formula Two race for Lotus at the Hockenheimring, Germany. On the fifth lap, his Lotus 48 veered off the track and crashed into the trees. He suffered a broken neck and skull fracture, and died before reaching the hospital. |
| 1968 | Mike Spence (GB) | Spence died during practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when he collided heavily with the concrete wall at the entry of turn one. His helmet was hit by the right front wheel of his car and he died at the hospital following massive head injuries. |
| 1968 | Ludovico Scarfiotti (I) | Ludovico Scarfiotti died in 1968 at a hillclimbing event on the Roßfeldhöhenringstraße near Berchtesgaden, Germany. He wrecked his Porsche 910 and got thrown out of the car, hitting the ground 45m further. |
| 1968 | Jo Schlesser (F) | Frenchman Schlesser was killed when he lost control of his Honda RA302 in lap 2 of the French Grand Prix at Rouen-Les-Sarthes. The magnesium bodied RA302 quickly caught fire, leaving Schlesser no chance. |
| 1969 | Lucien Bianchi (B) | He was killed when his Alfa Romeo T33 spun into a telegraph pole during Le Mans testing in 1969. |
| 1969 | Paul Hawkins (AUS) | He was killed when his Lola T70GT crashed and burned at Island Bend during the 1969 Tourist Trophy race at Oulton Park. |
| 1969 | Moisés Solana (MEX) | Solana was killed in a hillclimbing accident after he lost control of his McLaren and hit a bridge. |
| 1969 | Gerhard Mitter (D) | Mitter was killed at Schwedenkreuz, Nürburgring while practising for the German Grand Prix with BMW's 269 F2 project. BMW withdrew as a suspension or steering failure is believed to have caused Mitter's death. |
| 1970 | Bruce McLaren (NZ) | Bruce McLaren died (aged 32) when his Can-Am car crashed on the Lavant Straight just before Woodcote corner at Goodwood Circuit on June 2 1970 in England. He had been testing his new M8D when the rear body work came adrift at speed. The loss of aerodynamic downforce destabilized the car, which spun, left the track and hit a bunker used as a flag station. |
| 1970 | Piers Courage (GB) | Courage was killed in Zandvoort, Netherlands after sliding wide on a bend, riding up an embankment and rolled upside-down, bursting into flames. It is believed however that he was killed before the flames started as a wheel hit his helmet. |
| 1970 | Jochen Rindt (A) | Rindt died in a heavy crash with his Lotus at the parabolica corner in Monza, Italy. Although Rindt was rushed to hospital, he was pronounced dead. That same year he was honoured posthumously with the World Championship title. |
| 1971 | Ignazio Giunti (I) | Giunti died during the 1000km Buenos Aires race which he participated with a Ferrari 312PB. He ploughed into the rear of the Matra 660 of Jean-Pierre Beltoise, who was pushing the car along the track after running out of fuel. |
| 1971 | Pedro Rodriguez (MEX) | Rodríguez was killed in an Interserie sports car race at Norisring in Nuremberg, Germany, on 11 July 1971, at the wheel of a Ferrari 512M of Herbert Müller Racing. |
| 1971 | Jo Siffert (CH) | Killed in the non-Championship World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch GB. The suspension of his BRM had been damaged in a lap 1 incident with Ronnie Peterson, and broke later. |
| 1972 | Joakim Bonnier (S) | He was involved in an accident at Le Mans in 1972 when his Lola-Cosworth T280 collided with a Ferrari Daytona driven by a Swiss amateur driver Florian Vetsch. His car was catapulted into the trees and he was killed. |
| 1973 | Roger Williamson (GB) | Williamson suffered a sudden tyre deflation, which pitched his car into the barriers at high speed and catapulted it 275 m across the track, eventually coming to rest upside down against the barriers on the other side, during which his petrol tank had ignited while being scraped along the track. A rescue attempt by David Purley was unsuccesful and Williams died as asphyxiation by the time the fire was extinguished. |
| 1973 | François Cevert (F) | François Cevert died in his Tyrrell 006 at Watkins Glen after violently hitting the barriers during qualifying for the . He died instantly. |
| 1973 | Nasif Estéfano (RA) | Estéfano was killed contesting one of Argentina's domestic Turismo Carratera endurance events. |
| 1974 | Peter Revson (USA) | During a practice run for the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami, he was killed as a result of suspension failure on his Shadow Ford DN3. |
| 1974 | Silvio Moser (CH) | Moser died from severe injuries without regaining consciousness, some time after being involved in an accident while driving his Lola-BMW in the 1000 km sports car race at Monza. |
| 1974 | Helmuth Koinigg (A) | Died in a crash in the United States Grand Prix, only his second Grand Prix start. |
| 1975 | Mark Donohue (USA) | During a practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix, Donohue lost control of his March after a tire failed sending him careening into the catch fencing. He died the day after in hospital due to a brain hemorrhage. |
| 1977 | Tom Pryce (GB) | Tom Pryce was killed in a gruelling crash as he was partially decapitated by a fire extinguisher after hitting a marshall that crossed that track in aid for another car. |
| 1978 | Ronnie Peterson (S) | Peterson died from injuries received in a first lap collision at the Italian Grand Prix. |
| 1980 | Patrick Depailler (F) | He was killed testing for the German Grand Prix, when his steering failed at Ostkurve, and he crashed into the barriers at 280 km/h (174 mph). He died instantly. |
| 1982 | Gilles Villeneuve (CDN) | On May 8, 1982, Villeneuve died after an accident during the final qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. After hitting the much slower Jochen Mass in the Terlamenbocht corner, his Ferrari was launched into the air at a speed estimated at 200-225 kph (120-140 mph). He was thrown out of the car and died later in the hospital due to a fatal neck fracture in the presence of his wife. |
| 1982 | Riccardo Paletti (I) | Paletti crashed fatally on the start grid of the Canadian Grand Prix in only his second Formula 1 start. |
| 1983 | Rolf Stommelen (D) | Rolf was killed in a vicious crash during an IMSA Camel GT event at Riverside International Raceway on 24 April after the rear wing of his Porsche 935 broke. |
| 1985 | Manfred Winkelhock (D) | He was killed in the summer when he crashed heavily at turn 2 at Mosport Park of Bowmanville near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during the Budweiser 1000 km World Endurance Championship event, driving a Porsche 962C for Kremer Racing with co-driver Marc Surer. |
| 1985 | Stefan Bellof (D) | Regarded as a likely future F1 World Champion, he was killed at the 1000 km of Spa sports car race. Driving for Brun Motorsport, his privately-entered Porsche 956 touched with Jacky Ickx's works 962C at Eau Rouge corner, with both cars catching fire and halting the race. |
| 1986 | Elio De Angelis (I) | De Angelis died following injuries of a crash while testing the Brabham BMW BT55 after the rear wing of the car came off. The Italian died 29 hours later at the hospital due to the injuries of the smoke inhaled while being stuck in the car after the crash. |
| 1986 | Jo Gartner (A) | Jo Gartner was killed in the middle of the night while contesting the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His Porsche 962C suffered a mechanical problem, sending Gartner into the barriers on Mulsanne straight at 160km/h. He died on impact. |
| 1992 | Denis "Denny" Hulme (NZ) | The 1967 World Champion a BMW M3 touring car in the Bathurst 1000 when he suffered a massive heart attack. After coming to a halt, resue workers found Denny strapped but dead in his car. In that event, Hulme became the first former World Champion to die of natural causes. |
| 1994 | Roland Ratzenberger (A) | Ratzenberger was 33 years old when he fatally crashed during qualifying at Imola for the Grand Prix of San Marino. After his front wing broke, he failed to steer into the Villeneuve corner and smashed the wall at 314.9 km/h. He died of a basal skull fracture. |
| 1994 | Ayrton Senna (BR) | Ayrton Senna died in a violent crash during the San Marino Grand Prix, only one day after the world lost Roland Ratzenberger. Senna's Williams hit the exterior wall at Tamburello at 217km/h after he went straight out of the corner. He likely died of a suspension arm that protruded his helmet during the crash. |
| 2001 | Michele Alboreto (I) | In April, 2001, Alboreto was performing straight-line speed tests in an Audi R8 at the Lausitzring, near Dresden, Germany. A tyre blow-out caused his car to veer off track and crash into a wall, killing him. |
| 2015 | Jules Bianchi (FR) | Jules Bianchi lost control of his Marussia in very wet conditions during the Japanese Grand Prix on 5 October 2014. He crashed into a recovery vehicle handling an earlier accident. Bianchi went into a coma following a diffuse axonal injury, and remained comatose until his death in 17 July 2015. |
| 2015 | Justin Wilson (GB) | On 23 August 2015, Justin Boyd Wilson suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident at the Pocono Raceway, an event part of the IndyCar Series. He was struck by large debris from the crash of race leader's Sage Karam's car. His injuries caused his death the following day. Wilson competed in F1 during 2003 with Jaguar and Minardi. |
* Drivers with their names marked in bold died at an official Formula One Championship event.
