Formula 1

[Kes]

Williams' drivers bill for that season must have been astronomical. They still had Prost under contract for that season, Senna for the whole season, at about a million a race, Hill as No2 driver, Coulthard as test driver, and then Mansell came back for two races.

[Leigh Burne]

On the subject of Senna, anyone in this thread who's never seen the eponymous documentary, absolutely should.

I don't even rate myself as a particular Senna fan but it's one of the best things I've ever seen.

[Kes]

I remember a tale of Senna getting stopped for speeding on the M4 by traffic cops, and the alleged quote from the cop to Senna was "Who do you think ýou are, Nigel Mansell?"

[WeeMann]

On the subject of Senna, anyone in this thread who's never seen the eponymous documentary, absolutely should.

I don't even rate myself as a particular Senna fan but it's one of the best things I've ever seen.

I saw it at the cinema, but had a boring bloke near me narrating it all to his wife - "Ah yes, he was brilliant in this race, Prost got off the line much quicker..." I could have punched him.

I since got the dvd and have watched it a number of times. Awesome film and I don't think you even have to be an F1 fan to be moved by it.

[Kes]

F1 - Life On The Limit, equally worth a watch.

[Ray]

F1 - Life On The Limit, equally worth a watch.

I watched that when it came out. I had no idea before that Formula 1 was that dangerous and deadly the decades before...I started watching in 1997. I was shocked to learn that so many people died in F1 races...I think I couldn't have watched it in those decades before... knowing it's almost guaranteed 2-3 people die every year. oO

The film about Senna was really well made, I agree. Such a tragedy, that weekend...I'm so glad everything became way safer and it never happened again...well, aside from Bianchi.

[Kes]

Being fair, a lot of people back in the fifties, sixties, and seventies, went to motorsport events, to see crashes.

You could ask what twisted mentality allowed that? Pretty much the same mentality today that funds two guys beating the shit out of each other with gloves on.

Or the same mentality that gets horses going round a course, where the fences are five feet high on the approaching side, have wooden pine poles hidden in the hedge fences to break the horses' front legs, and the drop on the blind side of the fence is 8-12 feet, which the horse might well try to make with two broken legs.

[Leigh Burne]

Being fair, a lot of people back in the fifties, sixties, and seventies, went to motorsport events, to see crashes.

I'd argue a lot of people still go to motorsport events to see crashes. Fortunately the chances of the driver(s) walking away are substantially higher now.

[Kes]

For sure, Grosjean's accident was spectacular.

[Leigh Burne]

That was one of those where if I didn't know better I'd think for sure the guy was dead.

A bit like when Alonso ploughed into Webber's tyre at full speed in Brazil. Or Kubica's enormous shunt in Canada. Unbelievable what the cars can withstand these days.