F1 Track Breaches: 5 Times When People Got Way Too Close to the Action

Recognize the above image? The Facebook post went viral in Formula 1 circles. While most people believed that it should not have been a big issue, some feel a breach is a breach. So we bring you five times people got even closer to the action:

The German GP is probably famous for two things. Rubens Barrichello’s first win, and a man crossing the track on lap 25 while the race was under way. Initially walking on the side, he crossed the track, trying to avoid being caught by the marshals. As expected, the incident prompted a safety car.

You see an open gate towards a race track. You do not see it as a sign from god and just take your ‘Read the Bible’ banners and run straight onto the track. But this is exactly what happened during the 2003 British GP. Neil Horan ran onto Silverstone track, ran down the hanger straight waving his banners on the oncoming cars. This went on for some time until a brave marshall chased and dragged him off the track.

You have a grandstand ticket, you demand your right to try out a Ferrari. This is the gist for the image above. A fan first scaled the fence in front of the grandstand, ran across the track while the practice session was on and jumped over the fence to enter Ferrari’s garage. One there, he demanded to try a car as he had the ticket! He was caught immediately and handed over to the police.

We could not find the reason why the guy above fancied a Sunday night stroll on the track. He came on to the track, walked a few yards, prompted a safety car and then climbed over the hedge to exit. He was caught and handed over to the police. Questions were raised as to how can a guy be allowed to enter and walk on the track for a dazzling 53 seconds.

This is a sight of Formula 1 in the 70s no one wants to see. Watching Hunt on pole and Lauda’s first win after his 1976 accident must have been entertaining. The 1977 South African GP is a constant reminder why entering the track is taken so seriously. Here is what happened:

Renzo Zorzi had to retire due to engine failure and hence stopped on the side of the track. He got out of his burning car and two fire marshals ran across the track to help with the fire. As they did so, Tom Pryce and Hans-Joachim Stuck accented the rise in the track. Before that neither of them could have seen the two marshals crossing. Stuck was able to steer clear of the two, but Pryce could not react as fast.

Pryce struck the second, and younger of the two at around 270 km/h. As the marshal’s dead body was launched into the air, the fire extinguisher he was holding struck Pryce’s helmet, killing him instantly. Pryce’s car would speed down the long straight, with him dead in the cockpit, until it crashed into the 1st corner.

The incident tells us that each and every breach listed above could have gone seriously wrong. This is why track safety is taken so seriously. Sure, the track was empty and no cars were running when the couple (at the top) entered the track. But it still raises a question on track safety.