New F1 documentary out in 2014, "1"

[ManWithNoName]

Documentary about the history of F1 and has great insights into how safety has progressed over the years. Can't wait to see it.

"Williamson is dead. No lap of honour, quiet presentation."

That terse instruction, issued to 1973 Dutch Grand Prix winner Jackie Stewart even as he sat in the cockpit of his Tyrrell, is almost unimaginable in the modern era of Formula 1.

The scenes of Roger Williamson's car on fire, of David Purley fighting with such animated and poignant helplessness, are thankfully totally incomprehensible.

But while there is perhaps no death more shamefully written into F1's legacy, Williamson's was of course no isolated incident. New film-documentary '1' is a fascinating and appalling testament to that, chronicling the sport's brutal history and the drivers who risked their lives for their passion.

Where Rush and Senna before it dealt with specific heroes, the scope of 1 is far wider, acting as a faithful narrative to eras when the fight to improve safety was met with apathy and even derision.

"If you think motor racing is dangerous, slow down a bit," ex-FIA president Max Mosley recalls being told during his days as a driver. "I thought, 'I cannot believe a world sport is run like this'."

Article about it at Autosport if you're an Autosport Plus subscriber. But reading it I thought I'd read about Roger Williamson and that race. Absolutely shocking.

On the 8th lap of the race through the high speed esses near the Tunnel Oost (East Tunnel) right-hand corner, a suspected tyre failure caused Williamson's car to pitch into the barriers at high speed, and be catapulted 300 yards (275 m) across the track, eventually coming to rest upside down against the barriers on the other side. The petrol tank had ignited whilst being scraped along the track, and the car caught fire. Williamson had not been seriously injured by the impact, but was trapped in the car. The race was not stopped and continued with a local yellow at the scene, a fact which would become significant over the next few minutes.

Fellow driver David Purley almost immediately pulled his car over on the opposite side of the track, then ran across the live racetrack to assist him. Williamson was heard shouting to Purley to get him out of the car as Purley tried in vain to turn the car upright. There appeared to have been ample time to right the car and pull Williamson out, but as desperately as he tried, Purley was unable to do it by himself, and the marshals, who were not wearing flame ******ant overalls, were unable to help due to the intense heat.

Race control assumed that it was Purley's car that had crashed and that the driver had escaped unharmed. Many drivers who saw Purley waving them down to stop assumed that he was trying to put a fire out from his own car, having safely exited it, and thus did not know that a second driver had been involved. As a result the race continued at full pace while Purley desperately tried to save the life of Williamson.

There was only a single fire extinguisher in the area, and it was not enough to put out the fire. With the car still burning upside-down, the situation became hopeless, and the distraught Purley was led away by a marshal. Some spectators, appalled at Williamson's plight, tried to breach the safety fences in order to assist Williamson, but were pushed back by track security staff with dogs.

With the race still on, it took some eight minutes for a fire truck to completely travel around the circuit with the flow of race traffic. By the time the car was eventually righted, and the fire extinguished, Williamson had died of asphyxiation. A blanket was thrown over the burnt-out wreck with Williamson still inside, and the race carried on.

Think this documentary will be as fascinating as it will be troubling to watch.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Trailer

 

[Team DJ]

Not sure if you have seen it but "F1 The Killer Years" sounds to be very similar. And is a very interesting watch.

I think you can view it on YouTube. Just search for F1 Killer Years. Shouldnt be to hard to find.

 

[Team DJ]

Not sure if you have seen it but "F1 The Killer Years" sounds to be very similar. And is a very interesting watch.

I think you can view it on YouTube. Just search for F1 Killer Years. Shouldnt be to hard to find.

Couldnt see it on Youtube.

But on Daily Motion

 

[ManWithNoName]

Not sure if you have seen it but "F1 The Killer Years" sounds to be very similar. And is a very interesting watch.

I think you can view it on YouTube. Just search for F1 Killer Years. Shouldnt be to hard to find.

Watched it on a plane actually. Thought it was fantastic, and as you said extremely interesting. Well worth a watch for any F1 fan.

 

[JUBJUB]

Not sure if you have seen it but "F1 The Killer Years" sounds to be very similar. And is a very interesting watch.

I think you can view it on YouTube. Just search for F1 Killer Years. Shouldnt be to hard to find.

Didn't ONE show that in the days before the Aussie F1 GP a year ago ?

 

[DREAM TEAM BUFF]

I think it might have been

 

[Team DJ]

Didn't ONE show that in the days before the Aussie F1 GP a year ago ?

Yep thats when i saw it

 

[DrKrieger]

Really good watch, that video.

Colin Chapman comes across as a "bit" of a prick in it, I thought, not sure if that's actually how it was.

 

[darth_timon]

It's pretty terrifying how blaise F1 was about safety at one point. I recall Jackie Stewart talking about how unpopular he was when racing- something along the lines of 'I'd be a more popular champion if I'd kept quiet- I might have been dead but I'd have been more popular'.

 

[ManWithNoName]

So history repeated itself and I watched 1 on my flight today. Fantastic doco. Just staggering how unsafe the sport was. Every death in the doco was just more and more depressing.

Highly recommend it.