F1's Darkest Day: The Story of the 1961 Italian Grand Prix

[@SteffenT1981]

According to a German documentary about von Trips, he had a ticket for a flight from Düsseldorf to Chicago on the night of September 10th. The plane crashed in Ireland killing all 83 people on board. So, if von Trips would have finished the race at Monza, he would most probably had died later that day in the plane crash.

[@Dat-Mudkip]

Seems von Trips had a hard appointment with the Grim Reaper...

[@MidTennPews]

Death comes for us all.

[@joribremer5260]

Kind a like Final destination.. but in reverse…

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

Phreaky, that's almost enough to make one believe in destiny. Humans seem to be more comfortable to think that things just happen at random so if you're just sitting in your house in Ireland, a plane from Düsseldorf isn't just going to fall out of the sky and land on you because well..."

[@riggerthegeek]

I've heard that before and believe it's an urban myth. But certainly a sobering thought that death comes for us all

[@kevbrown2532]

When Senna died the Italian authorities refused to announce that he'd died on track, instead leaving the announcement t after the race and stating that he'd died in hospital. Professor Sid Watkins, the F1 race doctor at the time recalled holding Senna in his arms as he took his last breath. This was beside the stricken car. The reason for the delay in the announcement was to avoid disturbances in the crowd of over 100,000 people and to ensure the race continued. Italian law would have dictated that the track be sealed off as a crime scene immediately upon the announcement.

[@AidanMillward]

The Italian authorities perused Chapman for some time after rindt died. But no investigations, what I can see, for Enzo. 🤔

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

Sounds about right. However, it was obvious on the prior day that Ratzenburger did not survive his crash. If you close the facility to investigate the day before the race, then tell the Tifosi & other ticket holders who had traveled from all over the world to attend that there will be no race - Potential political suicide? Better to run 4 laps behind the safety car and call it a race?

[@Sephiroth5200]

@@AidanMillward Of course not. It was the Old Man. He has a legacy among Italians as strong as Caesar at this point, personal injustice to human dignity be damned, just like Caesar. Let alone the weight of his name almost 35 years after his death.

[@RobJaskula]

@@GregBrownsWorldORacing I'll never forget Ratzenberger's head roll. He was dead before the car stoped

[@dickfitzwelliner2807]

@@RobJaskula I'll have to try to find that video

[@s11333]

I have to say that the first lap crash at Silverstone this year was possibly the first time in my F1 watching career that I worried about someone in the crowd getting hurt, hopefully F1's good recent record with spectator safety continues.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

Are you speaking of the environmentalist whackos that were sitting on the racing surface? I'm not sure I'd classify them as 'spectators'. They had this misguided opinion that they were the 'main characters' at a grand prix. Fortunately for them, radio signals are faster than even the RedBulls this season.

[@s11333]

@@GregBrownsWorldORacing I was thinking of Zhou's crash at the start, I saw some footage from the grandstand and it looked pretty scary. The protesters were a different issue, as that was them deliberately putting themselves and others in danger, which no matter how valid their argument is, can not be condoned.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

@@s11333 Yeah, I think everybody is very lucky the car stayed intact, and we didn't have a Grosjean style fire event with no way out for 'Joe' and the burning fuel going right through the catch fence as happened at the indy 500 one year. It also helps that F1 cars are somewhat light compared to 3500 pound stock cars that actually rely on cables behind the 'catch fence' to keep the cars on the correct side of the fence.

[@nicolaclapiz]

@@GregBrownsWorldORacing @s11333 was talking about zhou's crash

[@angieng8633]

@@GregBrownsWorldORacing I think he's talking about the audience sitting at the grandstands where Zhou crashed. The loudspeaker pole was broken by Zhou's car, there were pieces of debris flying into the audience area. One spectator sitting there said there were carbon fiber flying pass his head. If you Google some of the spectator uploads of the incident you can see it clearer. What could also be seen is if Zhou's car bounced just a few feet higher it would have cleared the catch fence and landed on the audience. The audience at Turn 1 at Silverstone were seated close to the catch fence.

[@Nordschleife-Racing]

Thanks for putting out awesome content, Aidan! Keep it up!

[@Hookert9997]

After the race, Phil Hill asked 'was it von tripps?' And his team just said 'c'mon Phil, they want you for podium', absolute chills

[@andymb601]

I remember he actually mentioned this in the pre-copyright video on this race

[@LathropLdST]

Gotta love Ferrari and their traditions, eh?

[@ZeldaA_91]

damm thats a creepy fact about Phill and Mario both losing a team mate at Monza and winning a title.

[@lucasbailey8878]

And both were American.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

It sounds like (at least for Mario & to some degree Phil Hill) had finally achieved a lifelong dream - World Driver's Champion, but instead of being filled with delight, probably instead had butterfly stomach & heartache. If you'd planned a big throw down with your crew and friends at your RV or the equivalent of the day. You may have had one beer, nobody is coming by to see you (they don't know what to say anyway) and you are just waiting for the greatest day of your life to just be over with and done. You'd celebrate alone, but find you just don't have the heart for it.

[@Sargebri]

I always think about that irony.

[@peterf1]

@@GregBrownsWorldORacing My first GP: '78 USGP at the Glen. It was truly strange to see Jarier's helmet sticking out of Ronnie's car. There was a sullen mood in the pits too. Of course, they were pros, but it seemed like they couldn't wait for the weekend to be over.

[@allainangcao28]

​@@lucasbailey8878Small asterisk, Hill was born and raised in America. Mario, on the other hand, was born in Croatia and lived in Italy until he was 15 and raced under citizenship. It's a different case for someone like Nico Rosberg who races under a German flag but his dad is Finnish but can pass as his mother is German.

[@patrickracer43]

This is why you always hold your breath whenever you see an accident like when Austin Dillon went into the fence at Daytona in 2015, because you know that fence is the last line of defense against preventing another 1955 Le Mans

[@matthewlawrenson3628]

Phil Hill said something along the lines of "When I see something horrible, I plant my right foot because I know everyone else is lifting theirs."

[@SteffenT1981]

That's a quote from Jean-Pierre Sarti. ;-)

[@matthewlawrenson3628]

@@SteffenT1981 Hmm. I should go to sites that attribute their quotes better.

[@lucasbailey8878]

@@SteffenT1981 Fantastic Movie!

[@BobGeogeo]

I think Phil once said something like that and it was picked up for the film - maybe dramatized. I haven't found a source, though.

[@noahletwinski6955]

The fictional character Jean Pierre Sarti from "Grand Prix" said the quote in particular

[@sayharris1361]

Thanks for the history lesson about F1. I’m not sure how much Watkins Glen has changed since 1961. But I have shot there it’s a great track one of the few tracks in America I do miss shooting at.

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

They've added 5 new corners between the original 4th to 6th corner. They put in additional Armco horizontal barriers after the gaps killed François Cevert. A great course, but it has killed a dozen people.

[@johnkluge3421]

In 1971 they straightened and lengthened the original pit straight and added the boot making it over three miles. The original course was similar to the short course NASCAR runs

[@heintmeyer2296]

worth noting about Enzo ordering that those Ferraris be destroyed

[@Fenrasulfr]

I would love to see some of your documentaries on pre-war Grand Prix cars.

[@Moribax85]

I would love some documentaries about pre-F1 racing drivers, people like Nuvolari, Caracciola, or Rosemeyer

[@LathropLdST]

@@Moribax85 Bacunin, Ascari senior and Bonetto maybe?

[@jcgabriel1569]

@@Moribax85 Hermann Lang and his teammates...

[@barrydavies998]

Thanks!

[@mattwhelan13]

the 50s, 60s and even 70s were crazy looking back on it, so many deaths in motorsport at the very highest level, some of the best, most talented drivers of their respective generations tragically lost, some even while testing just shows you it could happen to literally anyone at any time. Fortnuately a lot more rare now across all of motorsport.

[@deanstanley2125]

Yes it's a dangerous game these men play but the cars are much safer than they were. You can thank Sir Jackie Stewart for pushing the FIA to make tracks and cars much safer than they were. He had seen too many of his colleagues killed in preventable accidents that could have been avoided.

[@DL-ls5sy]

It is the same thing in the Isle of Man, during TT races.

[@danesorensen1775]

I love that quote of Taffy's about his appetite for life: "I want to live to be 105 years old so I can have enough time to hear all the music I’d like to hear, read all the books that interest me, and have all the women I want." I wish I could take some of that spirit with me.

[@herbertkraft7379]

Considering that Moss witnessed Le Mans 55 that must have been pretty f*ckd up to race by for him. No amount of "they are racing drivers they know the risk" should put you through that.

[@andrewince8824]

Moss lived nead London during the Churchill-led Blitz. As a kid he'd probably have become very familiar with death. I think that might have been his saving grace, he was at least able to handle seeing death in ways not many can.

[@minmaxxer]

you know a topic is serious when the subtitle isn't in all caps

[@nobodyparticular7178]

I wish to thank you for refusing to show disturbing images such as you described. I'm enjoying your coverage of F1 history. You present it well and I hope the channel continues to grow in order to allow you to use more copyrighted material. I wish Getty or F1 would see the advantages of allowing a number of images for free or reduced cost to content creators.

[@andrewrobertson9450]

Thanks for your efforts and honesty brother

[@GoluckyEdwards]

Keep up the great work mate

[@SiVlog1989]

There are certainly a few contenders for F1's darkest day, to me, one that gets forgotten about is Spain 1975. A weekend full of politics, safety concerns and tragedy.

[@ES90344]

Wolfgang Alexander Albert Eduard Maximilian Reichsgraf Berghe von Trips was the best Formula 1 driver name.

[@endgamedog1900]

And it will likely remain so as we probably won't be seeing Ferdinand Zvonimir Maria Balthus Keith Michael Otto Antal Bahnam Leonhard Habsburg-Lothringen in F1 any time soon.

[@ES90344]

@@endgamedog1900 he can have the best GT driver name then.

[@arnavkalgutkar6169]

Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro Cenamor Rincón Rebollo Virto Moreno de Aranda Don Per Urrielagoiria Pérez del Pulgar

[@merym3427]

His friend from Ferrari can surely compete with this: Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton

[@jcgabriel1569]

@@merym3427 Just call him "Fon"...

[@TheWitchingHourBand]

Thanks for making these videos. I have learned so much about F1's history from them,.

[@ianwynne764]

Hello Aidan: I didn't know about this. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

[@mrlemondude2944]

I’m really enjoying these video about early formula 1

[@eggselent9814]

I think a horrific story to cover that is just about as dark as this one would be the 1953 Argentine GP. A tragedy sadly almost no one knows. Btw. i love these videos Aidan

[@tannerrobinson5110]

I can confirm about Rammstein Concerts. I got to work backstage at US bank stadium this past weekend for their show. I was there because the company I worked for was the vendor for the PA system and they used a few extra wireless packs for this show. They had A few speaker units units go out at the prior show, so I was there with a coworker for the overnight teardown. It gets hot even behind the stage without direct line of sight to any of the Pyrotechnics! But boy was it a blast to see it!

[@alexschulte1724]

The U.S. 500 name was given to the annual summer Michigan race being held in July, from 1997 to 1999. In the 1998 race, three spectators were killed and six more injured[1] when a wheel from Adrian Fernández's car flew into the grandstands during a crash on lap 175 of the 250 lap race

[@jeffreytam7684]

Very off topic, but I got to see Rammstein in Montreal a week and a half ago! Incredible show, and I can't recommend it enough to anyone who likes the band.

[@aydankhaliq2967]

C'mon get this guy to 100k already...

[@kevinprior3549]

One of the most striking f1 cars there's ever been. The shark-like nose looked amazing.

[@johnkluge3421]

I highly recommend the book “On the Limit” It is a very readable and compelling account of the 1961 season and the lives of Phil Hill and Von Tripps. There are not enough books about the golden age of racing but On the Limit is one of the better ones we do have.

[@paulreilly3904]

Yes, absolutely agree, John. I too have read it and it's a really good read as well as being about this era.

[@DjDolHaus86]

It's strange to think how when modern drivers see an accident happen or drive past the wreckage they can be fairly sure that at worst someone might have to go to the hospital for a check-up and they can ask over the radio who it was and whether they're OK (ie. got out of the car unaided). Back then if you saw a big crash or went past the burning wreckage of a car there was a reasonable chance that one of your friends just got crippled or even died and you wouldn't know until the end of the race. I know they were mentally tough guys and they'd be able to put the emotional blinkers on by concentrating on the job at hand but the thought must have gone through their heads during the less mentally taxing parts of the circuit such as the straights - "who's not going to be at the party tonight and will I ever see them again?".

[@Tommy-5684]

for those intrested "The History Guy" also did an exclent video on this tragedy

[@minibus9]

excelent video respectfullly handeleded

[@MultiRammstein1990]

So in 2 seasons we lost 18 lives in 2 races 1960 at spa 2 killed and moss badly injuried and this race im happy too see f1 is more safe now

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

Thank you for having the decency to not show the aftermath, regardless of whether you could have afforded the images or not. Some KZbinrs aren't nearly so thoughtful, and since getting caught out by watching a "clip show" in which an unannounced, so to speak, fatal accident was shown, I've been extremely cautious about who and what I watch. I've seen far too many fatal accidents "live" on TV - usually motorbikes, but also in cars of many types including F1. Senna wasn't the first by a long shot. I don't need to be shown what such an accident looks like. It didn't help that I turned on the TV a few years back without knowing what was on, and it was about the '55 Le Mans tragedy. Unfortunately, I turned on just as they showed the accident. I dare say they flagged it up before the documentary was broadcast, but again, I missed that. I'm always _very_ cautious about how I turn on the tv these days, especially at night when the stronger content gets shown. I hit the mute button and turn on the TV guide immediately. There is a very sweet but poignant picture of Damon in his pedal car. At a guess he'd have been about 18 months, 2 years at most (I can't remember his age). He's surrounded by some of the biggest names in F1 at the time, including Von Tripps. It could well have been taken during the spring or summer of that year. Seeing the small number of drivers encouraging this tot to drive his (obviously well loved!) car, it's heartbreaking to know what a high percentage of them - at least in my opinion - wouldn't get the chance to retire. Even Graham hadn't fully retired when his plane crashed. Whenever I see that picture, I smile - and then I try not to cry. Thanks for the explanation of the day. It's one of those incidents where I know all the facts, but in an Eric Morecambe way. Just not necessarily in the right order! (That's going to go over nearly everyone's head, isn't it? Look out for Morecambe and Wise with André Previn. Or Andrew Preview as he became known...)

[@dickfitzwelliner2807]

Jesus christ you used all the words to tell strangers that you're way too sensitive

[@LathropLdST]

You are really soft, huh? As someone raised between coffins and tombstones, you need to grow hair in your stomach. People as delicate as you are gone if jumpscared... not to mention unable to watch F1.

[@marksimpson2689]

Yet another great mini doco and cudos to you for not showing dead bodies

[@jimiverson3085]

I recall reading a Road and Track piece on Phil Hill where he discussed some of his teammates during his career. He wasn't impressed with Von Trips' professionalism and believed he took too many chances.

[@LucasOliveira-tt2ll]

ah the banking, one of the fewest pieces of race track where you can actually take a ride at it on a regular day, not with a car or motorcycle though. But the park is quite a good place to visit, when you get there you don't realise that such gruesome deaths happened there

[@barbaradyson6951]

i used to chauffeur mr luis and mrs jean stanley the owners of BRM Mr stanley had some stories to say about F1. He was the instigator of safety for F1.

[@stevendaly110]

Thank you, Aidan, a brilliant video and a difficult topic handled sensitively yet candidly. To offer a possible correction, if I may: At 1:16 you say that the Sharknose was "Ferrari's first mid-engined car". I'm not sure that's true. Ferrari experimented with the mid-engine layout in 1960 with 2.4 L and 1.5 L V6 mid-engined cars. The Ferrari 156 Formula 2 car of 1960 was almost identical to the Sharknose except for the ... shark nose. In July, the F2 car won the German Solitude GP, beating F1 cars and also Porsche on their home ground. It was driven by Wolfgang "Taffy" Von Trips.

[@jcgabriel1569]

Indeed, it isn't the first mid-engined car Ferrari made. That honour should go to the Ferrari 246P F1 car that appeared in 1960.The car saw some action during the season, I believe Ritchie Ginther drove it at Monaco in 1960, but mostly it's a test bed, as all the lessons learned from it were applied to the 156 "Sharknose". The 246P apparently also ended up morphing into one of the 156 Sharknose cars in 1961...

[@markmorey799]

You are sort-of correct. In 1960 Ferrari built a mid-engine 246, chassis 0008, raced it a few times, and then fitted a 1.5 litre engine for Formula Two racing. Chassis 0008 was then fitted with new bodywork with a sharknose, presented to the press, and raced through 1961 along with new chassis of largely the same design. Baghetti used 0008 to win a couple of non-championship races and the 1961 French Grand Prix. The only substantive difference was the upper rails of later chassis were bowed outwards at the engine bay to accommodate a new 120 degree V6 engine. Obviously, 0008 could only fit the earlier 65 degree engine. Baghetti crashed 0008 at the 1961 British Grand Prix and the chassis was written off.

[@neilperry2224]

Andretti isn't classed as being American as his place of birth was in Italy and not an American by birth. The Von Trips crash was used in the best Formula 1 film, Grand Prix starring Yves Montard ,James Garner and its his death you see at the end of the film with Yves Montard in a tree.

[@carsyoungtimerfreak1149]

Life was very different in the 60s. WWII was only 15 years ago. Danger was something different from danger today. I'm old enough to remember. To me those were the days in racing, not just formula 1. Most of the Formula 1 aces also drove touring cars and sports cars. Gents like Graham Hill and Jim Clark would train for a Grand Prix, fly back to the UK for a saloon car race on Saturday and race in the Grand Prix on Sunday...

[@andrewince8824]

I've watched the footage. Von Trips did not die in hospital. He died right there on the grass barely off the track. Indeed, it is unlikely he lived more than a moment after laying upon the grass, the impact of that crash was something else.

[@ysgol3]

The film of the crash shows that Jim Clark was very very lucky that day, to somehow slide up and down the bank without going over it and to be just missed by Trips's car as it landed after taking off. The film also shows Jimmy was clearly blameless - Trips simply miscalculated and pulled over into him.

[@maxmulsanne7054]

Agreed. As testified by Jack Brabham who was following behind both Clark and von Trips, had witnessed the crash and said: _“I don’t think either Jimmy Clark or Taffy von Trips were carving each other up as was suggested at the time."_ _“Jimmy was always a driver you could drive really hard against and be quite confident that he wasn’t going to do something stupid.”_

[@ysgol3]

@@maxmulsanne7054 Hi, thank you for replying. Indeed, Jim Clark was the cleanest and most gentlemanly of drivers, ironically Brabham, who was so nice about him in the quote you used (new to me so thanks again) often wasn't!

[@maxmulsanne7054]

@@ysgol3 No problem - the source came directly from Peter Windsor's blog. I read the same account before, but I can't remember if it was online or hardcopy sources. Cheers! 🏁💨

[@maxmulsanne7054]

@@ysgol3 Oh hey, l don't wish to bother you; but I forgot to mention this earlier.. I was too young to register Clark much less motorsports until I was 15. Anyways.... LIving here in the States I thought you would be interested on how well THE GREAT Jim Clark was regarded by us: 1) 1965 he made the cover of _Time_ magazine which is extremely rare for most periodical publications that are not involved with motorsports. It was a painting of him - nevertheless it was nice to see him recognized over here. Of course it was published after his dominant victory in the '500.' Oh yes! That's right - on the cover it stated - _'Jim Clark: the fastest man on wheelsl'_ Additional note: I will bet that if you do a Search on it, in the 'Images' option, you will be able to find it. 2) also in 1965, ABC Wide World of Sports awarded him as their _:WWofS Sportsman of The Year.'_ I'm not sure but there might be a video of that too in here. 3) sadly in the 1968 May issue of _'Life'_ magazine it was reported of course of the dreadful news from Hockenheim. However... Clark was quoted with saying _".R.....g is like smoking cigarettes; it gets into your blood."_ 3b) Oh here's another gem from Gentleman Jim; courtesy of _Road & Track'_ magazine reporting on the 1968 TASMAN series... When Lotus unveiled their livery of the red, wh*te & gold sponsorship from JPS Tabacco, one of the local drivers was getting clever and ribbing Clark about. Clark's response?.... Absolutely classic... _"Don't worry Billy, it still looks the same from behind"_ ... lol... BRILLIANT!! 🏆🏁💨

[@bobthebike7538]

Clarks autobiography is brutally honest about the accident. What was worse was the witch hunt carried out by the police.

[@hugoagogo9435]

Absolutely. Poor Jim must’ve suffered terribly being blamed for this. Bad enough being involved in such an unfortunate accident but to be wrongly blamed would take it toll

[@robertnoyes-smith1955]

Great history. I attended the 1963 Italian GP

[@PeterKelley]

Not F1 but there was also those people killed at the Charlotte Indy car race a few years ago. I was there.

[@fix0the0spade]

It's one of those weird, grim ironies that the worst accident in F1's history would be caused (albeit accidentally) by Jim Clark, arguably the cleanest driver F1 ever saw. Sometimes luck is against you.

[@hugoagogo9435]

Jim was involved in the crash. He didn’t necessarily cause it. Two very different things

[@icewhitegames6875]

Great video mate. Was the oval at the start of the lap or the end?

[@TheOriginalStix]

The oval section was the second half of the lap - They would go through the main circuit as normal, but after the Parabolica they would drive down the right side of the front straight towards the first banked corner, then the second banked corner gave them a fast run back to the start line.

[@barrymacokiner9423]

End

[@icewhitegames6875]

@@TheOriginalStix thanks for that. I just couldn't picture a lap in my head. Must have been hectic racing that layout!

[@TonyWhitley]

If you want to see the attitude of drivers back then at its starkest watch Jo Schlesser's fatal crash in the Honda at Rouen in 1968 where the cars weave on to the grass to go round the car burning in the middle of the track. Not that it made much difference to Jo, trapped in a flaming magnesium chassis with marshals probably trying to douse it with water - remember your school Physics lessons? Definitely don't show pictures or worse, video of that.

[@johnkluge3421]

Two words; Roger Williamson.

[@TonyWhitley]

Yes, sadly.

[@YingTou1]

(& 12:43 - end) Groovy? Who's playing here?

[@paulmaxey6377]

So if I understand it right, although some people wanted the banking removed for safety concerns and they did (or at least stopped using it), it was on the road circuit part that the accident happened. So not the fault of the oval but the road course, and they carried on using the part of the track that caused the incident and closed that part that didn't. Not much logic there is there.

[@kevbrown2532]

There had been other incidents on the banking, the narrow tyres and lack of grip couldn't cope with the increased speed. Being thrown off the top of any banking was and is highly likely to kill the driver. Just look at the result of Jim Clarks accident at Hockenheim. Flat track allows for run off areas which can be designed to reduce the risks and allow emergency services easier access.

[@GDP999-z1u]

I paused the video and went to watch the crash and, Von Trips car went Airborne, did like 3 spins, Launched him out of the car, Across the ENTIRE WIDTH of the track, and landed face down, just, boom, thats it

[@didgereemedia194]

I understand a spectator was killed during a race at Bathurst in the 1950s, I believe '55. Motorsport alway has and will be dangerous, I know, I witnessed Damian Flack's huge crash at Bathurst in 2015, and just this year I had a near miss with a Porsche during the Bathurst 12 Hour (the car crashed into the marshals post I was stationed at).

[@didgereemedia194]

Can you tell I'm a Bathurst resident?

[@williamwelsh5855]

Fine line between brave and crazy

[@stephenfasick5839]

There is a thin line between bravery and insanity. What ever it was, it took big balls to climb in one of those cars and race!

[@John-k6f9k]

Le Mans- "hold my beer"

[@caincha]

Was this somewhat adapted to the 1966 movie Grand Prix..?

[@alexstewart9068]

They remembered the war. Racing was dangerous. But nobody was shooting at you.

[@djbadlt]

The fans at Michigan weren't injured, they were killed .... something similar happened at Charlotte that year as well at the IRL race there

[@djbadlt]

Sorry second correction, Michigan was 98 Charlotte was 99

[@matthewsallman1700]

I was there at the Michigan race. The fans killed were in the lower rows. The tire then bounced up to the 32nd row and hit the person sitting in front of me. Somehow I saw it coming and moved away - luckily the stands were not crowded at that point of the race. Everyone survived where I sat, but an 80 year old woman was knocked unconscious. I've never had such a depressing drive home.

[@djbadlt]

@@matthewsallman1700 shit man .... sorry you had to experience that, I was 12 and watching that race on tv

[@gabetv468]

I wouldn't say it was f1s darkest day but it's definitely to me the 2nd darkest day. I've seen the crash before and I've never seen anything with so much gore in my life. But senna and ratzenburgers death were probably the darkest time in f1

[@AidanMillward]

I mean… 16+ people died.

[@gabetv468]

@@AidanMillward true maybe it was the darkest day. I already saw like 2 different video pov of the crash. One was the basic clip and the other was a color version of the ferrari barrel rolling towards a camera man

[@davidparker8221]

I thought you handled this video with a proper amount of respect. Thank you for mentioning the parallels with Mario's championship. Mario has always contended that if Dr. Sid Watkins was allowed on the track that day, Ronnie would still be alive. It is unfortunate that in racing, airlines, trains and maritime business the expression, "Change is only written in blood." exists. [Something Sir Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda knew too well.]

[@mirrorblue100]

That was a different world.

[@JohnSmithShields]

Hello Storytime

[@Thunderbolt857]

I have a suggestion , why dont you record some footage in AC of the race or the event that doind the video of and putz in the background so you dont have to worrie about Copyrights

[@andreaassanelli4117]

I would say Le Mans 1955... On a personal note the saddest race was Monza (again) 1978.

[@AidanMillward]

Le Mans wasn’t an F1 race though.

[@jtdavis62]

I'll be seeing Rammstein Saturday night in Chicago!

[@Dat-Mudkip]

I'd argue that the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix was a darker day. Yes, only one guy died, but I personally think it was far more horrific and depressing.

[@3Dsjk]

Three spectators were killed by a wheel and other debris flying into the stands at the 1999 IRL race in Charlotte. This crash, and the 1998 CART race in Michigan, led to wheel tethers being added to open wheel cars in America. A week after the accident, Sports Illustrated ran an article critical of overall auto racing safety, including the recents spectator deaths at Michigan and Charlotte. Tony George, then-owner of Indy and the IRL was furious and attempted to ban the writer (but not Sports Illustrated, oddly) from covering the upcoming Indy 500. It wasn’t so much the article as it was the title and included picture; the magazine called it “Fatal Attraction”, and included a picture from Charlotte…. of two dead bodies covered by a tarp, a leg of one victim sticking out, and the grandstands covered in blood (the writer didn’t actually choose the title or accompanying photograph, but it was his name on there so he got the heat). I can understand his outrage, and I don’t think my response would have been much different, but I guess banning the writer was bad to do, as other media outlets threatened to boycott the race. It also didn’t help that the Indy 500 was at it’s lowest point in decades and had little to no leverage, so they backed off. Chip Ganassi told the writer “you know things have gotten bad when you’re the biggest story of the race”.

[@jacekatalakis8316]

I didn't know about the SI controversy at all and the 1999 Indy 500 and Tony George trying to ban the media rom covering what was a newsworthy, if tragic, event...but worth pointing out in 1994 a wheel went over the fence at Phoenix as well. Even up from 1999-2008, the then IRL had a string of horrific crashes. IIRC, and I may well be wrong on this but didn't debris rom Brack's car go through the fence? We know from F1 that wheels go through fence gaps when they are there, a la Australia 2001, or Monza 2000 However, in 1987 at Talladega when Bobby Allison's car lost a tire, and turned into a sudden, out of control plane, during a commercial break, the announcers were discussing how if the car had gone through the fence it was the end of auto racing in the Us and and the US's own Le Mans 1955, which led in turn to restrictor plates being added in. Then Petty's monster 1988 crash happened, and caars still kept getting airborne up until 93-94 when the roof flaps came in. Charlotte in the 90s had some horrific crashes, no matter the series however.

[@robertknight5429]

They did not start races with a green flag! The national flag was used in this time before lights were used. Green flags are for rolling starts in the USA.

[@LathropLdST]

Someone needs to superimpose that picture of Wolfgang Von Tripps in the red shirt over a Michael Schumacher picture. Both have the same air.

[@philhawley1219]

It is very sad whenever someone dies competing or watching their favourite sport. Today F1 cars very safe but spare a thought for the impoverished third world workers who died whilst building the race tracks in the Middle East. No haloes ,nomex clothing or helmets to save them. Expendable slaves. The same goes for the Qatar world cup stadia. Doesn't matter though, FIFA and the Emir are crying all the way to the bank.

[@MidTennPews]

The oval should always stand where it does simply for the history of it.

[@juan833blue]

To be honest if that kind of accident happened again in Today's F1 the race would be stopped or abandoned.

[@Tranmere59]

This guy is World Champ Captain Inaccurate in everything.

[@mmonroe2280]

So no footage of the crash? Isn't this the subject of the narrative?🤔

[@AidanMillward]

Wanna pay for me to use it?

[@dragonheatgaming5005]

Just seen the crash, jesus. Von tripp car turned into a helicopter

[@alecerdmann8505]

It's not usually the fans fault, but I think you could blame Group B rally fans in the '80s for any injuries/deaths that happened at that time. Those people were nuts!

[@rms-vp6hf]

Taffi was close but Peterson was dominanted by Andretti much in the same way Verstappen or Hamilton have of late.

[@YingTou1]

First twelve seconds: who are these swingers? Anyone?

[@EffequalsMA]

Yeah shout out to the danger of Rammstein.....last time I was in the pit, which had rangers of its own, for an old man.

[@RRaquello]

I don't get the idea that because there is an accident, even a fatal accident, that happens on the job, everything should stop and everyone should go home. Because it's in something as visible and glamorous as auto racing? How about just a regular job that has no glamor. Say a construction site. If someone gets hurt, even seriously, does the work site just shut down? Not from my experience, because it happened once where I worked. Not an accident but someone suffered a stroke, hit their head on falling and was taken away in an ambulance and later died. Did we all go home? No, because even if we did we'd have to come back the next day and the work would still be there to do. We just went back to our jobs. I see it the same way with race car drivers. It's their job. People get hurt but that doesn't mean the job stops or everyone should go home and mope and whine. This is all something new with more recent generations, and I don't think it's an improvement. Maybe I'm just old but it used to be considered a virtue to carry on in the face of tragedy.

[@rustyturner431]

Now, now... Innes didn't exactly get the better of Ferrari, since his USGP win was accomplished in a race notably without Ferrari's presence. You would have thought, given the newly-crowned World Champion being American Hill, that Enzo would have sent a full armada of shark-noses to celebrate. But, then, Enzo was many things other than predictable.

[@Morcap]

@12:02 You can tell Aidan is embed in an Anglo-Saxon culture as he mentioned as the First reason the monetary implications for not showing some pictures with his Second reason in the human tragedy that unfolded in the event. Just and observation. Thank you for the video, well put together.

[@robbudden]

I thought your ramstein joke was the airshow....incident

[@AidanMillward]

The East German metal band has two Ms, which means the name translates to Ramming Stone which sounds awesome.

[@duncanwalker1347]

They all carried on racing because in those days they accepted the risk of dying every race because they saw it all too often. They were REAL Racing drivers we will never see their likes ever again

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

F1's darkest day? Is this just a very British way of describing crowning an American as World Champion? Oh all those people died, that's what you're referring to.

[@678rwhp]

168hp sounds pretty laughable. I suppose the cars were under 1000lbs so it wasn't bad but it was far from a lot. There were street cars from American makes that were making 400hp in 1961.

[@chrisbrown3925]

From 1500 ccs

[@nomadicSHIORI]

I think more than 100 people died in the total span of this 10 min video in the Middle East right now. There will be some twat saying in 70 years or so that this would have been never possible in the current day 😂😂😂

[@AidanMillward]

Nice false equivalence bro.

[@Tacko14]

Yeah, well, people die. Rule of life, get over it already. If they should die over something as utterly useless as driving cars in circles, just to see who’s fastest, that’s another matter. But sports were invented as a cissy, ineffective alternative to war, so there’s that. Personally, I’d rather die doing or having done something useful. I’m a motorsports fan, but I hold no illusions: it’s a waste of time, effort, capital, resources and ultimately lives. There again, I think exactly the same about football. And I hate football. Now hit that dislike button like you mean it

[@ATEC101]

After the biological imperatives have been met for the day, humanity makes the rest up.

[@florianlassnig9769]

Please show this comment to the families of the spectators who died that day. They would like you very much.

[@StevePhoenix]

"Sports were invented as a cissy, ineffective alternative to war"? Are you serious? That's a completely deranged and factually incorrect claim.

[@jtp2007]

Such a sad way to think.