The Absolute INSANITY of Formula 1 in the 70s

Step back into the wild era of 1970s Formula 1, where racing was as dangerous as it was exhilarating. This video explores a decade of minimal safety and maximum speed, featuring insights from former drivers and rare footage. Discover how F1’s bravest competitors faced risks on the track, pushing the limits of both man and machine.

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[DailyFuelUp]

RIP 🙏🏼❤

Martin Brain (1970)
Piers Courage (1970)
Jochen Rindt (1970)
Jo Siffert (1971)
Roger Williamson (1973)
François Cevert (1973)
Peter Revson (1974)
Helmut Koinigg (1974)
Mark Donohue (1975)
Tom Pryce (1977)
Jansen van Vuuren (1977)
Brian McGuire (1977)
Ronnie Peterson (1978)

[Hammer-of-Judgement]

Only real ones know that the thumbnail is from a group b pic

Edit: thanks for 54 likes!!
Edit2: 66? Thank you guys this is the most I’ve gotten ever
Edit3: 253 likes and top comment thanks guys!

[ghstcode]

I just want to say thank you to Lance Stroll for continuously putting the FIA safety standards to test in every race

[johnclay]

I know that you plucked the factoid about George Follmer being the oldest F1 rookie, but it's NOT like the man had been driving touring cars. He had competed in SCCA racing for the better part of a decade before his F1 debut, had driven the USAC Championship car series from 1967-71 (including 3 Indy 500s) winning once, and had spent 1972 driving Can-Am for Roger Penske winning that series (winning 5 of the 8 races he entered). For those not familiar with Can-Am - it was a closed-wheel/open cockpit series with fewer restrictions than F1 at that point in time; the Porsche 917/10 driven by Follmer had 850 hp in race trim (more in qualifying trim) so for him to come to F1 in 1973 wasn't like someone who barely drove got to jump in the car; it was a "lateral move" to go to a car with less horsepower but open wheel bodywork.

[mikewoodman]

Tom Pryces' death was probably the most senseless F1 has ever witnessed

[craigpurdie]

Today, it's been 30 years since Ayrton Senna da Silva perished at Imola. I still miss him and will never forget watching the live broadcast when he hit the wall. It's one of those images that you never get out of your head.

[Rosi_in_space]

"nice" clickbait thumbnail, F1 car doing an iconic rally jump.

[mrdraw]

For every lethal accident there are plenty of near-misses. The usage of carbon fiber in the 1980s made the cars safer, but the reason nothing too serious happened in the late-1980s and early-1990s was chance. Imola 1994 was a real wake-up call. Still, even in the more modern times some accidents could easily have ended far worse. Just think of Liuzzi almost decapitating Schumacher in Abu Dhabi 2010 or the start of the 2012 Belgium Grand Prix. We now find it crazy the cars had no cockpit protection back then, but it would take Bianchi's life before the halo was introduced. Without halo we would very likely have lost a few more drivers.

[SC-yxwr]

Well done synopsis. Btw, you want to watch the haunting documentary of the 1973 season "One by One" (1974) aka "The Quick and the Dead" (re-released 1978), its truly a gut wrenching experience and difficult to watch with out tearing up.

[mikeportjogger]

The World has changed a lot. Back then the memory of young men dying flying bombers and fighter planes over enemy territory and other WW2 scenarios were still fresh in peoples' minds. The attitude of acceptance of danger and death took some time to dissipate.

[osmanehtsham-wtwc]

More than 3 have died since the 1970s if you include Maria De Vilotta and Jules Bianchi. They both died later as a result of injuries sustained in an F1 car.

[Tom_DevVed]

If they were to race those 1970s cars in bad rain then that's it 💀

[ralphhathaway-coley]

The insanity was even worse in the 50s and 60s before aluminium or fibreglass body panels/shells they sometimes used to use magnesium body panels!
Also those older cars with those skinny hard treaded tyres still reached top speeds on the straights were much the same as the 70s cars, but by the 70s the big sticky tyres, wings and very low centre of gravity meant that in the 70s the lap records kept dropping as they could travel faster around the curves than in the 50s and 60s. The disc brakes used in the 70s are so much better than the drum brakes, and the lower weight of the cars meant that stopping distances were so much shorter, especially in the wet, so they were able to hold those top speeds for longer.
Much of the safety of modern F1 is down to the tireless work of Jackie Stewart who the deaths of 57 drivers in the period he was racing, and he was insulted and attacked at the time for that work.

[dave-rnzd]

I remember Niki Lauda's crash that was the first F1 race for me as a kid about 5 or 6. Been a F1 fan from that day.

[lukeskywalker]

Thank you to Sir Jackie Stewart for his endless dedication to F1 safety.

[Kualinar]

Remember that there was a time when there was NO wall between the track and the pits. A time when there was no actual pit lane, but just a widening of the track.

[DailyFuelUp]

Sorry to those who have already seen the video, but I had to reupload it due to issues with the previous one.

[PeterStaniforth]

I can remember watching what I think was David Purley's crash as a child, from what I can remember they put the fire out and assertained that he was indeed dead without even extracting him from the car. They then threw a tarpaulin over the burnt-out wreck (driver included) and carried on with the race!! I can remember thinking that there was a dead driver in that car every time the camera focused on a car whizzing past it. We felt sad for the him, but from what I can remember we weren't outraged because that's just how it was in the 70s'. Thank god things have changed.

[simonfunwithtrains]

What other sport would accept such a callous regard for the safety of the participants. Can you imagine a football match where two of the players are killed because Other players were allowed to wear really sharp spikes on the bottom of their boots? I'd rather be bored than see someone dead long, live safety over gruesome spectacle.

[andreasandremyrvold]

Back when death by crash had a yearly expectancy at least 1 driver per year.