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Bleachersreport
Formula One has a safety record in the modern era that is second to none. Not since the tragic death of Ayrton Senna in 1994 has a driver died at the wheel, while even minor injuries are few and far between.
But the cars are not bulletproof. Given the speeds of the cars, serious injury is inevitable from time to time. Mika Hakkinen, Olivier Panis and Michael Schumacher are among drivers who returned from injury after terrible accidents.
We must, however, remember that, while the drivers have been kept safe, two marshals have lost their lives since 1994: Paolo Ghislimberti at the Italian Grand Prix in 2000 and Graham Beveridge at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
Listed are 10 crashes—all from after 1994—that made me sit up in my seat and stare in concern at the TV until it was clear the driver was OK. And in most of them, the drivers walked away unaided. None missed more than one race as a result of injuries, and no spectators or marshals were harmed.
This slideshow is a tribute to the exceptional engineering of the cars, to the unsung heroes back in the factories who make them that way, to the safety personnel at the tracks and to individuals who have long campaigned for a safer Formula One.