Safety in Formula One Motor Racing from 1950 continued:

The Formation of the Grand Prix Medical Service and the FISA Medical Commission.

In 1967 the International Grand Prix Medical Service, GPMS, was formed by Louis Stanley, an associate of the BRM F1 team with the backing of the GPDA and notable individual support from driver, Jackie Stewart. The service was designed to provide specialist trackside treatment and assist local doctors at races. A transporter wagon was converted into a mobile medical unit, affectionately dubbed the 'Stanley Passion Wagon', which could be taken to European races. The GPMS was not affiliated to the FIA and therefore its use was voluntarily. Many circuit organizer opposed the GPMS service and boycotted its use. Many circuit owners are believed to have thought the GPMS were openly criticizing their circuit facilities. Professor Watkins notes that when Jackie Stewart took his own doctor with him to a race meeting at Silverstone this:

"had embarrassed the authorities there".

(Watkins 1996:23)

In 1978 Bernie Ecclestone approached Professor Sidney Watkins, an accomplished neurosurgeon and member of the RAC motorsports surgical team who had run the 'Stanley Passion Wagon' at the British Grand Prix, with the idea of forming a medical support unit. Professor Watkins was appointed FOCA Grand prix surgeon and liased with medical representatives from a number of national motoring authorities at races that season. Professor Watkins' list of safety and trackside medical intervention problems and possible solutions was dually endorsed by FOCA, FISA (Federation Internationale du Sport Automobile - the sporting commission of the FIA replacing the CSI in 1979) and a number of drivers. This in turn led to the formation of the FISA Medical Commission of which Professor Watkins was elected President. The FISA Medical Commission came up against similar objections and obstacles as befell the GPMS but benefited from the sanctioning powers of FISA who introduced the safety initiatives as mandatory and could impose fines on circuit owners who did not comply, with the greatest threat being the removal of the race if they did not comply. The FIA have produced a safety survey covering 1963 - 1996 which details many of the safety initiatives they introduced; it is available on their website and I've placed a link on my links page.

From 1979 there was a lot of conflict between the FOCA and FISA representatives. FOCA had become increasingly influential and economically powerful and FISA representatives saw FOCA as challenging their right to run F1. The next four years is commonly referred to as the FOCA-FISA War. The works teams affiliated themselves with FISA. I will not go into detail regarding this period of conflict here but to summarize it led to many races being disrupted or cancelled. The FOCA teams boycotted many events and threatened to withdraw and start their own World Championship at one point. However, during this time safety was not 'used' as a political tool. Though affiliated to FOCA, Professor Watkins recalls he treated all drivers regardless of their teams affiliation and writes:

"my first responsibility was to the drivers . . . Neither Bernie [FOCA President] or Balestre [FISA President] ever passed any comment that I remained politically neutral".

(Watkins 1996:82)

This would suggest FOCA and FISA deemed safety an important issue and held similar aims for the improvement of safety measures. The FOCA-FISA conflict was largely resolved by the negotiation of the 'Concorde Agreement', the detailed contents of which remains secret, which asserts the FIA's right to set the technical and sporting regulations of the sport and allows FOCA the rights to the commercial and promotional rights of F1 including television rights.

The number of serious and fatal accidents dropped from this time which is largely attributed to the implementation of the safety measures and medical intervention plans the Medical Commission, and later the Safety Commission, introduced. The centralization of safety implementation to the FIA has ensured a forum for the dissemination of safety knowledge from national authorities' medical and safety representatives. It also provides a forum to which other participants can direct their opinions regarding safety. The financial, influential and sanctioning power of being part of the FIA's structure ensured a shift in the balance of power away from the circuit owners towards the governing body and hence the participants they represent.

The declining number of serious and fatal accidents in the sport heightened the shock when Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were killed on consecutive days at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. These were the first deaths at a race meeting for twelve years and it had been eight years since Elio de Angelis had been killed testing. In the aftermath of San Marino a number of actions were taken. The drivers reformed the GPDA. The FIA formed an Advisory Expert Group which directly involved the FIA in safety research and development, including circuit and car design, for the first time, thereby increasing the centralization of safety implementation to the FIA further.

Next Page: Newspaper Analysis: The Times newspaper reporting of fatalities 1950 - 97

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  Bibliography (or Go to my Book Reviews Page)

Professor Sidney Watkins - 'Life at the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One' Macmillan 1996 Buy this book at Amazon.co.uk Today!

(c)RH PR 2007