Formula 4: British driver Billy Monger has serious accident
- Thread starter vanpeebles
- Start date
Soldato
The crash was horrific, hopefully he knew little of it.
Maybe he will be able to take some comfort from Alex Zanardi.
Andi.
Soldato
Said last night in response to a friend saying questions will no doubt be raised about safety of cars that it was an absolute freak accident to have that much speed differential into the strongest part of the car in front. I think the F4 chassis was only introduced last year, it is good in some respects but unfortunate that accidents like these always bring about improvements to safety.
Soldato
I was wondering how this could have happened. You used to see similar things in pre-90s cars as the drivers feet were in front of the forward bulkhead, Johnny Herbert and Martin Donnelly spring to mind. Surely that's not the case any more - even in lower formulae cars?
There's only so much you can do unless you want the nose of the car to be two metres long or the car to weigh a ton. Modern Motorsport chassis are as safe as they've ever been but an accident like this is a freak occurrence. The heaviest and hardest part of the car hit square on, at high speed. It's incredibly difficult to design something that would withstand an impact like that.
Soldato
Thankfully it looks like the other guy, Patrik Pasma, is OK. He has been in to see Billy too.
Andi.
Andi.
Soldato
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39651421 JB and other motorsport drivers have also responded...
Soldato
- Joined
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bloodyhell, why was there no red flag with a car stationary on the track?
Don
because I believe it was one of the leading cars that had literally just spun and stalled seconds earlier
That's actually really brave of him. I've heard stories and anecdotes that a lot of drivers won't visit other drivers who have been injured as they don't want reminded of what can happen. Maybe not so much now, but when the cars were less safe anyway.
Soldato
There's a few instances of the bulkhead breaking under extreme force since then, even if you're looking no further than F1.
Heikki Kovalainen's chassis snapped in two in his Barcelona crash in 2008, exposing his legs, though thankfully he was largely uninjured. Robert Kubica's feet were also exposed in his Montreal crash in 2007. The forces the cars are exposed to are sometimes so extreme that the they simply can't cope any more which is why there is a constant drive to continue to improve safety in motorsport.
In Billy Monger's case the bulkhead was likely penetrated in direct contact with the gearbox and clearly the car couldn't cope despite being built to current FIA safety standards. If he'd had another split second to avoid Pasma then he'd probably be less severely injured as he might have largely avoided the rear crash structure and gearbox.
When ITV cut to the track side pictures you could see that Pasma's car was so far embedded in Monger's car that you knew he'd be a very lucky boy to avoid leg damage - I was just relieved at the time that both boys were moving at all, such was the sudden brutality of the crash when watching it live.
Soldato
It was starting to drizzle and Pasma (the car he struck) spun between the Old Hairpin and McLeans, coming to rest on the track, either stalled or slowed to a near stop from the spin. Pasma only spun a few seconds before Monger hit him - the marshals didn't even have a chance to show the yellows.
Man of Honour
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- 21 Nov 2004
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Even an F1 car wouldn't hold up to that. Good to see some money being raised.
So unlucky
Soldato
JustGiving has hit the half million mark. Insurance on a leg loss would be around £75K. Lets just hope this is enough to get Billy driving again 
Andi.
Andi.
Deleted member 651465
D
Deleted member 651465
Driving again should be his last priority. Quality of life and some decent prosthetics should come first and foremost.JustGiving has hit the half million mark. Insurance on a leg loss would be around £75K. Lets just hope this is enough to get Billy driving again
Andi.
All the modifications he's going to need to make to his house, car and lifestyle (to name a few) will soon eat in to any money that is raised.
Realistically, I hope as much is raised as possible so he doesn't have to worry about work / earning and can focus on recovery
Caporegime
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Driving again should be his last priority. Quality of life and some decent prosthetics should come first and foremost.
All the modifications he's going to need to make to his house, car and lifestyle (to name a few) will soon eat in to any money that is raised.
Realistically, I hope as much is raised as possible so he doesn't have to worry about work / earning and can focus on recovery
If your life is racing and that is what you want to do, then quality of life will be improved drastically by being able to race again. If he loses his legs, his career and his passion in one day, that is even harder to take.
He loves racing and what often gets people through these situations is a goal, something they want to achieve. Something to get you through months of painful rehab and the horrible moments of depression where he'll want to give up. Racing might well be the thing he should keep at the front of his mind that gets him through this.