# List of Formula One fatalities

Formula One (F1) is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and vehicles must conform. The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. The results of each race are combined to determine two annual Championships, one for drivers and one for constructors.
Safety standards have improved since the first World Championship Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1950, where there was no medical back-up nor safety measures in case of an accident. Helmets were not made mandatory until 1952, though these were simple cork-lined helmets with no visors. It was not until the 1960s that robust full-visor helmets were made mandatory, along with fireproof overalls, and the FIA assumed responsibility for safety at the circuits. Steps were taken to improve the safety of the Formula One car in the 1970s; the cockpit opening was enlarged allowing the driver to escape more quickly in the event of an accident and outside mirrors became mandatory. The 1980s saw further improvement in the structure of the Formula One car, with the monocoque being made out of carbon fibre instead of aluminium, increasing protection upon impact. Following the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, a number of measures were introduced in an attempt to slow the cars down, including bodywork aerodynamic limitations, a pit lane speed limit and temporary circuit modifications such as extra chicanes. Grooved tyres were introduced in 1998 instead of racing slick tyres to reduce cornering speed. Safety measures continued to be introduced into the 21st century, with a number of circuits having their configuration changed to improve driver safety.
This list includes drivers who have died during a FIA World Championship event (including practice, qualifying and the race), and those who have died while driving modern or vintage Formula One cars outside the World Championship. Track marshals and other race attendees who have died as a result of these accidents are not included in the list. Fifty-two drivers have died from incidents that occurred at a FIA World Championship event or while driving a Formula One car at another event, with Cameron Earl being the first in 1952. Thirty-two of the drivers died from incidents during Grand Prix race weekends which formed part of the World Championship, seven died during test sessions, and thirteen driving Formula One cars during non-championship Formula One weekends or vintage/historic events. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has seen the most fatalities; seven drivers have died there during the time that the Indianapolis 500 formed part of the world championship, though the Indianapolis 500 was held to AAA regulations rather than Formula One regulations. Fifteen drivers died in the 1950s; fourteen in the 1960s; twelve in the 1970s; four in the 1980s and two in the 1990s. Following the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at Imola on consecutive days in 1994, no driver died during world championship events for more than 20 years until Jules Bianchi's death in 2015, from injuries sustained during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Three drivers died in the intervening years while driving former Formula One cars (two from the 1960s, one from the 1990s) in vintage racing and other events not associated with World Championship Grands Prix. Two Formula One Champions have died while racing or practising in Formula One, Jochen Rindt in 1970, and Senna in 1994. Rindt was not a champion at the time of his death, but won the 1970 championship posthumously, the only driver to have done so.
* Onofre Marimón was the first fatality specifically at a World Championship Grand Prix, the 1954 German Grand Prix; Chet Miller was the first fatality at a World Championship event, the 1953 Indianapolis 500
* Jochen Rindt is the only driver to posthumously win a World Championship, missing the last four races after his fatal crash in qualifying for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix
* Three-time world champion Ayrton Senna is the only former champion to die from a crash during a World Championship race, the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix
* Jules Bianchi is the most recent fatality resulting from a World Championship race incident, dying from injuries suffered at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix

## Fatalities
### Detail by driver

| † | Indicates event was not part of the Formula One World Championship, such as official non-championship Formula One events and unassociated events using vintage Formula One cars. |
| ‡ | Indicates test drive of a Formula One car that was not part of any competitive event. |
Fatalities by name :
| Driver | Date of accident | Age | Event | Circuit | Car | Session |
| Cameron Earl (UK) | June 18, 1952 | 29 | Test‡ | MIRA | ERA | Test |
| Chet Miller (USA) | May 15, 1953 | 50 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Kurtis Kraft | Practice |
| Charles de Tornaco (BEL) | September 18, 1953 | 26 | Modena Grand Prix$^†$ | Autodromo di Modena | Ferrari Tipo 500 | Practice |
| Onofre Marimón (ARG) | July 31, 1954 | 30 | German Grand Prix | Nürburgring | Maserati 250F | Practice |
| Mario Alborghetti (ITA) | April 11, 1955 | 26 | Pau Grand Prix$^†$ | Circuit de Pau-Ville | Maserati 4CLT | Race |
| Manny Ayulo (USA) | May 16, 1955 | 33 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Kurtis Kraft | Practice |
| Bill Vukovich (USA) | May 30, 1955 | 36 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Kurtis Kraft | Race |
| Eugenio Castellotti (ITA) | March 14, 1957 | 26 | Test‡ | Autodromo di Modena | Ferrari 801 | Test |
| Keith Andrews (USA) | May 15, 1957 | 36 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Kurtis Kraft | Practice |
| Pat O'Connor (USA) | May 30, 1958 | 29 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Kurtis Kraft | Race |
| Luigi Musso (ITA) | July 6, 1958 | 33 | French Grand Prix | Circuit de Reims-Gueux | Ferrari 246 F1 | Race |
| Peter Collins (UK) | August 3, 1958 | 26 | German Grand Prix | Nürburgring | Ferrari 246 F1 | Race |
| Stuart Lewis-Evans (UK) | October 19, 1958 | 28 | Moroccan Grand Prix | Circuit d'Ain-Diab | Vanwall | Race |
| Jerry Unser Jr. (USA) | May 2, 1959 | 26 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Kuzma | Practice |
| Bob Cortner (USA) | May 19, 1959 | 32 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Cornis | Practice |
| Harry Schell (USA) | May 13, 1960 | 38 | BRDC International Trophy$^†$ | Silverstone Circuit | Cooper T51 | Practice |
| Chris Bristow (UK) | June 19, 1960 | 22 | Belgian Grand Prix | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | Cooper T51 | Race |
| Alan Stacey (UK) | June 19, 1960 | 26 | Belgian Grand Prix | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | Lotus 18 | Race |
| Shane Summers (UK) | June 1, 1961 | 24 | Silver City Trophy$^†$ | Brands Hatch | Cooper | Practice |
| Giulio Cabianca (ITA) | June 15, 1961 | 38 | Test‡ | Autodromo di Modena | Cooper T51 | Test |
| Wolfgang von Trips (FRG) | September 10, 1961 | 33 | Italian Grand Prix | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | Ferrari 156 F1 | Race |
| Ricardo Rodríguez (MEX) | November 1, 1962 | 20 | Mexican Grand Prix$^†$ | Autódromo Magdalena Mixiuhca | Lotus 24 | Practice |
| Gary Hocking (FRN) | December 21, 1962 | 25 | Natal Grand Prix$^†$ | Westmead Circuit | Lotus 24 | Practice |
| Carel Godin de Beaufort (NED) | August 1, 1964 | 30 | German Grand Prix | Nürburgring | Porsche 718 | Practice |
| John Taylor (UK) | August 7, 1966 | 33 | German Grand Prix | Nürburgring | Brabham BT11 | Race |
| Lorenzo Bandini (ITA) | May 7, 1967 | 31 | Monaco Grand Prix | Circuit de Monaco | Ferrari 312 | Race |
| Bob Anderson (UK) | August 14, 1967 | 36 | Test‡ | Silverstone Circuit | Brabham BT11 | Test |
| Jo Schlesser (FRA) | July 7, 1968 | 40 | French Grand Prix | Circuit de Rouen-les-Essarts | Honda RA302 | Race |
| Gerhard Mitter (FRG) | August 1, 1969 | 33 | German Grand Prix | Nürburgring | BMW 269 | Practice |
| Martin Brain (UK) | May 25, 1970 | 37 | Nottingham Sports Car Club meeting$^†$ | Silverstone Circuit | Cooper T86B | Race |
| Piers Courage (UK) | June 21, 1970 | 28 | Dutch Grand Prix | Circuit Park Zandvoort | De Tomaso 505/38 | Race |
| Jochen Rindt (AUT) | September 5, 1970 | 28 | Italian Grand Prix | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | Lotus 72 | Qualifying |
| Jo Siffert (SUI) | October 24, 1971 | 35 | World Championship Victory Race$^†$ | Brands Hatch | BRM P160 | Race |
| Roger Williamson (UK) | July 29, 1973 | 25 | Dutch Grand Prix | Circuit Park Zandvoort | March 731 | Race |
| François Cevert (FRA) | October 6, 1973 | 29 | United States Grand Prix | Watkins Glen International | Tyrrell 006 | Qualifying |
| Peter Revson (USA) | March 22, 1974 | 35 | South African Grand Prix | Kyalami Racing Circuit | Shadow DN3 | Test |
| Helmut Koinigg (AUT) | October 6, 1974 | 25 | United States Grand Prix | Watkins Glen International | Surtees TS16 | Race |
| Mark Donohue (USA) | August 17, 1975 | 38 | Austrian Grand Prix | Österreichring | March 751 | Practice |
| Tom Pryce (UK) | March 5, 1977 | 27 | South African Grand Prix | Kyalami Racing Circuit | Shadow DN8 | Race |
| Brian McGuire (AUS) | August 29, 1977 | 31 | Shellsport International Series Round 11$^†$ | Brands Hatch | McGuire BM1 | Practice |
| Ronnie Peterson (SWE) | September 10, 1978 | 34 | Italian Grand Prix | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | Lotus 78 | Race |
| Patrick Depailler (FRA) | August 1, 1980 | 35 | Test‡ | Hockenheimring | Alfa Romeo 179 | Test |
| Gilles Villeneuve (CAN) | May 8, 1982 | 32 | Belgian Grand Prix | Circuit Zolder | Ferrari 126C2 | Qualifying |
| Riccardo Paletti (ITA) | June 13, 1982 | 23 | Canadian Grand Prix | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve | Osella FA1C | Race |
| Elio de Angelis (ITA) | May 14, 1986 | 28 | Test‡ | Circuit Paul Ricard | Brabham BT55 | Test |
| Roland Ratzenberger (AUT) | April 30, 1994 | 33 | San Marino Grand Prix | Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari | Simtek S941 | Qualifying |
| Ayrton Senna (BRA) | May 1, 1994 | 34 | San Marino Grand Prix | Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari | Williams FW16 | Race |
| John Dawson-Damer (UK) | June 24, 2000 | 59 | Goodwood Festival of Speed$^†$ | Goodwood Hillclimb | Lotus 63 | Run |
| Fritz Glatz (AUT) | July 14, 2002 | 58 | Czech Superprix$^†$ | Autodrom Most | Footwork FA17 | Race |
| Denis Welch (UK) | July 27, 2014 | 69 | Jack Brabham Memorial Trophy$^†$ | Silverstone Circuit | Lotus 18 | Race |
| Jules Bianchi (FRA) | October 5, 2014 | 25 | Japanese Grand Prix | Suzuka International Racing Course | Marussia MR03 | Race |
| David Ferrer (FRA) | September 2, 2017 | 62 | Historic Grand Prix$^†$ | Circuit Park Zandvoort | March 701 | Race |

### By type of event

Fatalities by type of event :
| Event | Fatalities | First | Last |
| World Championship | 32 | 1953 | 2014 |
| Testing | 7 | 1952 | 1986 |
| Non-Championship & other | 13 | 1955 | 2017 |
| Total | 52 | 1952 | 2017 |

### By nationality

Fatalities by Nationality :
| Nationality | Total | First | Last |
| United Kingdom | 14 | 1952 | 2014 |
| United States | 10 | 1953 | 1975 |
| Italy | 7 | 1955 | 1986 |
| France | 5 | 1968 | 2017 |
| Austria | 4 | 1970 | 2002 |
| Germany | 2 | 1961 | 1969 |
| Argentina | 1 | 1954 | 1954 |
| Australia | 1 | 1977 | 1977 |
| Belgium | 1 | 1953 | 1953 |
| Brazil | 1 | 1994 | 1994 |
| Canada | 1 | 1982 | 1982 |
| Mexico | 1 | 1962 | 1962 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1964 | 1964 |
| Rhodesia and Nyasaland | 1 | 1962 | 1962 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1978 | 1978 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 1971 | 1971 |
| Total for 16 nationalities | 52 | 1952 | 2017 |

### By circuit

Fatalities by Circuit :
| Circuit | Total | First | Last |
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | 7 | 1953 | 1959 |
| Nürburgring | 5 | 1954 | 1969 |
| Silverstone Circuit | 4 | 1960 | 2014 |
| Autodromo di Modena | 3 | 1953 | 1961 |
| Brands Hatch | 3 | 1961 | 1977 |
| Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | 3 | 1961 | 1978 |
| Circuit Park Zandvoort | 3 | 1970 | 2017 |
| Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | 2 | 1960 | 1960 |
| Watkins Glen International | 2 | 1973 | 1974 |
| Kyalami Racing Circuit | 2 | 1974 | 1977 |
| Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari | 2 | 1994 | 1994 |
| MIRA | 1 | 1952 | 1952 |
| Circuit de Pau-Ville | 1 | 1955 | 1955 |
| Circuit de Reims-Gueux | 1 | 1958 | 1958 |
| Circuit d'Ain-Diab | 1 | 1958 | 1958 |
| Autódromo Magdalena Mixiuhca | 1 | 1962 | 1962 |
| Westmead Circuit | 1 | 1962 | 1962 |
| Circuit de Monaco | 1 | 1967 | 1967 |
| Circuit de Rouen-les-Essarts | 1 | 1968 | 1968 |
| Österreichring | 1 | 1975 | 1975 |
| Hockenheimring | 1 | 1980 | 1980 |
| Circuit Zolder | 1 | 1982 | 1982 |
| Circuit Gilles Villeneuve | 1 | 1982 | 1982 |
| Circuit Paul Ricard | 1 | 1986 | 1986 |
| Goodwood Hillclimb | 1 | 2000 | 2000 |
| Autodrom Most | 1 | 2002 | 2002 |
| Suzuka International Racing Course | 1 | 2014 | 2014 |
| Total for 27 circuits | 52 | 1952 | 2017 |

### By decade

Fatalities by Decade :
| Decade | Total | First | Last |
| 1950s | 15 | 1952 | 1959 |
| 1960s | 14 | 1960 | 1969 |
| 1970s | 12 | 1970 | 1978 |
| 1980s | 4 | 1980 | 1986 |
| 1990s | 2 | 1994 | 1994 |
| 2000s | 2 | 2000 | 2002 |
| 2010s | 3 | 2014 | 2017 |
| Total | 52 | 1952 | 2017 |