Formula-1 safety and medical pioneer Sid Watkins dies

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Formula-1 safety and medical pioneer Sid Watkins dies

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Watkins was instrumental in introducing many of the safety improvements in the sport.

16 September,2012 02:31 pm

Professor Sid Watkins, who was at the forefront of Formula 1 safety for more than 30 years, has died aged 84.The neurosurgeon, who was a close friend of the late three-time champion Ayrton Senna, served as the sports medical delegate from 1978 until 2004. As trackside doctor, he played a major role in saving the lives of several grand prix drivers after heavy crashes.Among them were Ferraris Didier Pironi at the 1982 German Grand Prix, Jordans Rubens Barrichello at Imola in 1994 and McLarens Mika Hakkinen at Adelaide in 1995. It was Sid Watkins that saved my life in Imola 94, said Barrichello on Twitter. Great guy to be with, always happy. Thanks for everything you have done for us drivers. RIP.Watkinss replacement as F1 medical delegate, Gary Hartstein, told BBC Sport: Sid was absolutely the most charismatic and extraordinary problem-solver Ive ever met. What he got done was extraordinary - but it was the way he got it done in the face of extraordinary opposition at the time. He kept pushing and pushing so hard to the extent that it is now accepted as the way.Watkins worked in F1 alongside his full-time job at Whitechapel Hospital in London. He was appointed chairman of the FIA Expert Advisory Safety Committee, which was set up in 1994 following the deaths of Austrian Roland Ratzenberger and Senna on successive days after Barrichellos crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.