Robert Kubica survived one of the most horrific crashes we have seen in F1, and not only was he not seriously injured, he might even race in the upcoming US Grand Prix.

Formula One is of course not just glitz and glamour. It is not just the rich and famous and the beautiful coming together every other weekend to delight and dazzle us with their presence and entertainment. There is also a darker side to Formula One, a side that we do not like to speak of.

Accidents, injuries and deaths do occur in Formula One, the latter thankfully is very rare these days thanks to the great safety measures and technological advances that have made the cars virtually indestructible. And when they do “destruct” they do so in a very prescribed and deliberate manner.

The last death during a Formula One race was when a marshal was killed at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. The wheels of Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve cars touched and Villeneuve was catapulted into the air, he hit the barrier and a loose wheel from his car struck Graham Beveridge. Another marshal was killed just 7 months before that during the Italian Grand Prix when Paolo Ghislimberti died from head and chest injuries caused by debris after a six-car collision on the opening lap.

Twenty-four Formula One drivers have been killed in sanctioned Formula One racing events since 1950. The last was the great 3-time world champion Ayrton Senna, who died at Imola in 1994. Sadly another driver, Roland Ratzenberger, also died the day before. The first death in a sanctioned Formula One race was Onofre Marimon, who died during practice for the German Grand Prix in 1954. Jochen Rindt died at the Italian GP in 1970 and the only man who could overtake him in the championship was Jacky Ickx. He failed to do so and Rindt became the 1st and only posthumous champion. Tom Pryce died in one of the most horrific accidents ever seen during a race when he struck a marshal running across the track at the South African GP in 1977. Pryce was killed when a fire extinguisher that the marshal was carrying struck Pryce in the face.

It is truly amazing to think that so many drivers were killed during the early years in Formula One and still the sport survived and grew to the popularity we have today.

The most horrific accident in motorsport, however, occurred on June 11, 1955 during the annual Le Mans 24-hour race. Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes hit Macklin’s Austin Healey traveling at around 150mph. Levegh’s Mercedes somersaulted over the safety barrier, caught fire and broke into pieces, which flew into the crowd. Over 80 people were killed and more than a 100 injured. An amazing fact to this horrible event is that the race continued for another 20 hours! The reason was that it was felt that if the race was ended the mass exodus from the track would have hindered any rescue attempts and the care of the injured. Formula One drivers, Juan Manuel Fangio and Mike Hawthorn were both closely involved in the accident, and racing was never the same. The Grand Prix in France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain were cancelled and even the US president had thoughts of banning racing in America. Mercedes also withdrew from all racing later that year.

In the last 50 odd years since the start of the official Formula One World Championship, and indeed since the start of competitive motor racing, the leaps and bounds that have been made in safety measures not only at tracks but also for cars and drivers have saved many lives. Accidents that happen today, in which a driver could jump out of his car and run away to safety would have in previous years caused not only a drivers death but possibly spectator deaths as well.

Accidents, injuries and sometimes death are a natural risk and part of Formula One, it always has been and always will be. It is a risk that all drivers accept with full knowledge of the dangers that they face every time they step into the car. Thankfully for the most part, all we have to see and enjoy is the glitz the glamour and the excitement of Formula One.

Drivers who have been killed during sanctioned Formula One events are:

July 31, 1954 - Onofre Marimon - German GP

July 6, 1958 - Luigi Musso - French GP

Aug 3, 1958 - Peter Collins - German GP

Oct 25, 1958 - Stuart Lewis-Evans - Moroccan GP

June 19, 1960 - Chris Bristow & Alan Stacey - Belgian GP

Sep 10, 1961 - Wolfgang Von Trips - Italian GP

August 2 1964 - Carel Godin de Beaufort - German GP

August 7, 1966 - John Taylor - German GP

May 10, 1967 - Lorenzo Bandini - Monaco GP

July 7, 1968 - Jo Schlesser - French GP

August 2, 1969 - Gerhard Mitter - German GP

June 21, 1970 - Piers Courage - Dutch GP

Sep 5, 1970 - Jochen Rindt - Italian GP

July 29, 1973 - Roger Williamson - Dutch GP

Oct 6, 1973 - Francois Cevert - U.S. GP

Oct 6, 1974 - Helmuth Koinigg - U.S. GP

Aug 19, 1975 - Mark Donahue - Austrian GP

March 5, 1977 - Tom Pryce - South African GP

Sep 11, 1978 - Ronnie Peterson - Italian GP

May 8, 1982 - Gilles Villeneuve - Belgian GP

June 13, 1982 - Ricardo Paletti - Canadian GP

April 30, 1994 - Roland Ratzenberger - San Marino GP

May 1, 1994 - Ayrton Senna - San Marino GP