F1

Top 10 Most Accident Prone Drivers in F1 History

by
Sabyasachi Biswas
August 30, 2021

Formula 1 is a dangerous sport. Ever since the inception of the sport, it has seen numerous injuries and many deaths. Some caused due to the car’s fault, others happened due to the reckless driving and rash driving by the drivers. As compared to the early days, F1 has become quite safer but the risk still remains. Being an incredibly fast sport, the drivers remain on immense risk. However, the risk also depends on how a driver is driving the car. Some drivers are relatively safe minded, while others are rash drivers.

In today’s list we’ll talk about such 10 drivers who are famous for their notorious driving skills and have put themselves and their fellow drivers at risk. So what are we waiting for? It’s light out and away we go.

Ranking the Top 10 Youngest F1 Pole Sitters

#10. Vittorio Brambilla

Starting with the number 10, we have Vittorio Brambilla from Italy. Also known as the Monza Gorilla, this Italian speedster has been active in F1 from the year 1974 to 1980 and raced for the teams like March, Surtees and Alfa Romeo. With 79 Race starts to his name, Brambilla is quite known as a good driver but at time also known for his reckless driving because he used to go over the limit at times. In the year 1975 during US Grand Prix qualifying, he crashed his car. And in that very year during Australian Grand Prix spun his car after winning the race and waved at fans with the broken car. Vittorio had so many crashes during the 1976 season that he only scored a point. He was also involved during the 1978 Monza crash which was fatal for his fellow F1 driver Ronnie Peterson.

#9. Kevin Magnussen

Moving to number 9 in the list, we have Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen. The former Haas driver has been a constant name in the grid from 2014 to 2020 and has been on the news not because he won races, but because of his rash driving at times. The former Renault speedster usually started the race from the midfield and collided with fellow racers on more than just an occasion. There’s a reason why he’s in number nine in our list and he is there for a reason. There are hundreds of videos on his crash compilation. From hitting the barrier in his McLaren Honda, to going out straight into the tyres stacked into the side in his Haas, Kevin is very famous for his rash driving.

#8. Nico Hulkenberg

And in the 8th place we have Nico Hulkenberg from Germany. The former Force India and Williams driver is quite known for his on track ferocious behaviour and does not go well with the other drivers. Nico is someone who’s got the record of being a good driver without any race podium. Hulkenberg has been crashing and going out of the race since he joined F1. There was hardly any season that Nico hadn’t gone out crashing or got any penalties. One such gruelling incident was in 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when Nico crashed upside down and stayed there for three minutes in his fuming Renault. The German driver escaped unhurt after a collision with Haas’s Romain Grosjean that sent him barrel rolling towards the tyre barriers.

#7. Max Verstappen

Up ahead in number 7 we have the ferocious Max Verstappen. This Red Bull prodigy is one of the most promising talent in the F1 scene right now. From taking the world by storm when he debuted in just 17 years, to bagging some of the unbreakable records this Dutch speedster has it all. Even though Max is known for his pace and aggresive behaviour, this led him to crash out of many occasions. Often regarded for having hot head Max oftentimes crashed on the barriers or took out fellow racers with him out of the race. From crashing against his then Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo in Baku, Azerbaijan to getting crashed out after being nudged by Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, England to crashing out of the race after colliding with Racing Point’s Esteban Ocon, Verstappen has name for himself as one of the dangerous driver out there.

#6. Lewis Hamilton

Next in the list at 6 we have none other Lewis Hamilton. The seven times world champion is not only known for his record of most wins, but also for securing most pole positions in the history of Formula 1. But there’s also a dark side of him that put the Briton in this list. No matter how many races the Englishman has won, there were many races Lewis crashed out for his rash driving or a fault of his own. From clashing with his then Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg fighting it out for the top position to knocking Red Bull’s Max Verstappen out of the race this year and Alex Albon in 2019, Hamilton is also known for his notorious pace and rash driving over the years.

#5. Jody Scheckter

Up ahead in the top 5 we have Jody Scheckter. The 1979 F1 World Champion was once regarded as the most dangerous driver in F1. The name was so bad as his career was full of crashes at the beginning. In 1973’s British Grand Prix, Jody prompted F1’s most brutal crashes that piled up more than 10 cars om the track forcing the race to a halt. Jody spun in the first lap that made those 10 cars to retire. The race later started with the cars that didn’t retire. A week later, his fellow F1 driver Francois Cevert died in the accident and the nearest person to him was Jody himself. This nasty accident put a self awareness and realisation to Scheckter and he improved his driving skill thereafter.

#4. Roman Grosjean

Now in at number 4 we have Roman Grosjean. This Frenchman has been known for his quick and rash driving since a very early age. From the Go Karting days, Roman Grosjean was crashing and it didn’t stop there. The former Haas driver hit Pastor Maldonado in 2012 Australian Grand Prix, and funnily crashed his car to the sidewall in 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In Baku, Grosjean was warming his tyres while the safety car was on play and all of a sudden he hit the side wall. The most notable crash was during 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix when Grosjean hit the barrier directly in his Haas and suddenly the car caught fire and became a fireball. Roman was lucky to have escaped unscathed.

#3. Taki Inoue

Now in the podium place we have Taki Inoue from Japan. Often regarded as the worst F1 driver till date, Inoue got chance in Formula 1 thanks to his family’s immense wealth. His family got huge business firm in Japan and hence he’s got the most important F1 seat. He wasn’t only rash driver but also slow and unlucky to some extent. Apart from his driving mistakes, there were many things that made his fall into this list. One such incident happened in during the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix, his car broke down. He was towed by a truck when the safety car hit him. His car rolled several times. Fortunately, he was not injured. Then again in During the 1995 Hungarian Grand Prix, after his car broke down again, he went out and tried to help the race stewards putting out a fire. The safety vehicle arriving at the scene didn’t brake properly and hit Inoue, once again. In the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 1995, Damon Hill hit Schumacher after lapping Inoue and missed a turn because of him. No wonder he was a menace on the circuits.

#2. Pastor Maldonado

In at runner’s up place we have none other than Pastor Maldonado. From here the list gets more and more interesting as every driver in this list has terrible, terrible records on rash driving and crashing. Pastor Maldonado had a career filled with crashes. He started by a big one even before getting into the F1 scene. During the 2005 Formula Renault 3.5 season, he almost killed a race steward during the Monaco Grand Prix after failing to slow down under a yellow flag. His very wealthy father paid for all the medical bills of the injured steward in order to save Pastor from being handed over lifetime ban from Monaco Grand Prix. In 2011, Pastor hit Lewis Hamilton during qualification in 2011 Belgian Grand Prix that gave him five place Grid penalty. In 2012, he hit Sergio Perez during Monaco Grand Prix and such was his record that he had around back to back 7 races on streak of crashing, penalties including hitting Timo Glock. There are just too many crashes to count from the Venezuelan.

#1. Andrea de Cesaris

Finally we’re into the pole position. Hello everyone, meet the boss of crashes Italian Andrea de Cesaris. The manner of his crashes were so bad that he was once fired from the team because the team had to go though lots of expenditure to repair the car. In teb year 1984, De Cesaris went to Ligier. During the 1984 Zeltweg Austrian Gran Prix, De Cesaris had a big crash and rolled over several times in which he was lightly injured and walked back to the pits where he was immediately fired by team boss Guy Ligier. The team boss had to say “I can no longer afford to employ this man”. You have to consider the fact that his sponsor Marlboro was paying the bulk of his salary. As the team could not afford him braking another car, they fired him. After that he often changed teams, during 1990, he again crashed in the first lap in Imola and Interlagos. He nearly took out Nigell Mansell’s Ferrari. This incident prompted BBC commentator James Hunt to call him an idiot in live TV. All in all you’ve to consider that this guy had 14 retirements during a 16 race season. Astonishing, isn’t it?