Calamitous GP Starts

[KekeTheKing]

I just obtained both of these, and I figured some of you might appreciate this footage.

Argentina 79 - Not exactly a clean start to the season.

Belgium 81 - Everybody knows the story, but I never saw the BBC coverage before yesterday. Some rather interesting commentary from Murray and James here.

 

[Andrea_Moda_Rules]

Does anything beat this?? I would love to see it if it is.

 

[RasputinLives]

I seem to remember 3 starts at Belgium 1990 and at Italy 1990 and their being some Chaos.

Germany 1994 is prob worht a look too

but I think the Belgium 98 is the ultimate

 

[KekeTheKing]

Austria 87 saw 2 pileups and 3 starts. Pretty sure that was the nail in the coffin for the Osterreichring.

 

[Galahad]

"I hold the organisers entirely responsible for total incompetence there"

Well said JH.

 

[Johnny Carwash]

The start off the 1978 Italian GP was pretty horrendous in which the end result was that Ronnie Petersen died.

 

[Vortex]

I still have Belgium 98 on video tape, one of my favourite races!

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

How can a race with so many incidents be classed as a favourite?

 

[Vortex]

How can a race with so many incidents be classed as a favourite?

Are you being ironic? lol

 

[Lewywo4]

I still have Belgium 98 on video tape, one of my favourite races!

I wonder how many cars would have been able to restart that 1998 race at Spa, if the current rule against a spare car not being allowed in the garage area, had existed then? ...........maybe 3 or 4

 

[Vortex]

Yeah I know, another rule I don’t like lol.

 

[Andrea_Moda_Rules]

14 cars involved. Jos Verstappen got back but his car was too damaged.

so about 8. Thats not taking into consideration however the Race was stopped for an hour and a half while the mess was cleared up. Quite a few cars perhaps could of been repaired

 

[Lewywo4]

I'll never forget the terrible driving by Ricardo Rosset, and the way that he plowed into those spinning cars, charging straight ahead from the last row.

 

[MCLS]

I think Webber is a contender for worst start award of the current decade, don't think he actually gained any places off the grid last year.

 

[FB]

Derek Daly looking for his pilots licence at Monaco in 1980

 

[sushifiesta]

That Belgium 81 video is the most horrendous motorsporting incident I've ever seen. What a complete and utter cock up that was. Does anyone know if the mechanic survived?

EDIT: I just had a look and the mechanic hit at the start survived, but the mechanic run over in the pit lane died a few days after.

You hear about the improved safety of the cars a lot, but not the improvement in the race organisation and marshalling so much. This video makes it apparent that F1 has come a long way in this regard as well.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

I know this only involves a couple of cars, but it was the last time I ever bet on an F1 race. Yes I had a bet on Raikkonen to win. He'd got off to a bad start if I recall by ending up on the back of the grid, and then this happened.

 

[mjo]

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned these two: