Throughtout my life so far, many hobbies and interests have come and gone, but one seemingly dangerous sport has always had a large presence.
Formula One is a sport that originated in Britain over 60 years ago and is a huge part of our history and culture. There is no denying this is an extremely dangerous sport; 15 drivers were killed in accidents in the 1950's, twelve in the 60's, ten in the 70's, four in the 80's and two in the 90's. Danger is part of the appeal of Formula One and so will always be there, One major fact to comment on here is how the numbers have rapidly decreased and no fatalities have occurred since April 1994.
The Extreme safety measures that the sport has adopted have kept the excitement and adrenaline but eliminated deaths behind the wheel. Some of these features have filtered down into out road cars to improve safety there, such as traction control and strong carbon fibre body work.
Yes, there is no denying it is a dangerous sport, however it is too much of an important part of international culture to be discouraged. The aspect of danger means people have so much more respect for sportsmen like racing drivers and Formula One is such an intelligent, exciting and fascinating sport that it has a huge fan base across the globe. It is inevitable that when you have 24 cars racing around a track at more than 300km/h now and then they will collide, we cannot fully prevent that.
But if we did find a way to prevent crashes and eliminate all danger from sport, would we want to?
Taking the danger out of a sport or activity makes it much less compelling for spectators and participants and could be described as border-lining on boring.
The simple fact is if you take away the danger from a sport, you also take away a massive part of the excitement and the adrenaline. And in a sport like F1, taking away the danger is like taking the sun away from a summer holiday, it turns something so amazing into something completely average.
(Thought I'd share this with you all, wrote it as part of my creative writing in English)
"Triumph without peril brings no glory" (A vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire).
ReplyDeleteThat's this famous quote from the Cid of Corneille that came to my mind when i read your post.
I think that without the danger the sport wouldn't be as interesting even (or i must say especially) for the drivers. The fact that we're aware of the danger, and the extremely high price of their cars play a big part in the excitement. Not only for the audience that we are but also for the drivers.
What would life be if it was like a video game? You fall, you fly... You crash, you respawn... You die, you retry... tasteless! Taking a risk wouldn't mean anything. it could probably become chaos.
Yes danger is very importante, IMO.
PS: Ayrton died on May 1st 1994 ;)
yeah but don't you feel that it is very dangerous because you can easily die and i think that they should use extreme safety equipment.
DeleteWell said.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I admire racing drivers in general so much is because of the danger element - because of the risk. It makes you realise that they're doing something not everyone can do. Think about the number of footballers in the world compared to just 24 F1 drivers for example.
I don't like seeing anyone getting injured or killed - whether it is drivers, marshals, spectators or whatever. Not sure if you were aware of the case of Dan Wheldon and what happened to him last year - nobody wants to see that sort of thing happen, but in motorsport the danger is a part of it.
Nice writing by the way!
Thank you, it's much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteOf course no one wants to see any racing driver injured and what happened with Dan Wheldon was very unfortate but it is a part of the sport that will always be there.
what other extreme sports can you think of?????????????????
ReplyDeleteskydiving
DeleteYou do not seem to have addressed the question fully. You have picked only on one activity, encouraged it on the basis of culture and benefits to road safety and in no way mentioned about the selfish element to it
ReplyDeletehey. are you a F1 racer or something, because you seem to know only about that!!!
ReplyDeleteThe issue isn't dying in sport but those who have to take risks to save you in the event of tragedy. The only people who could die in F1 are ( or should be) the drivers who take the risk for themselves or other drivers caught up in a crash but who similarly take the risk. The issue with mountaineering or sailing etc involves third parties who are often called out to save these people. It could be argued that these rescuers equally assume responsibility but they do it for different and amazing reasons....to save lives...the sportspeople do it for numerous including ego, selfishness as well as the obvious rewards. Moreover, the rescuers are trained and prepared to help those in peril in the ordinary course of living ( plane wrecks and shipping fatalities etc). I don't care if someone decides to take risks for themselves and perishes as a result, that was their choice, but when their selfishness affects others then it becomes undeniably selfish.
ReplyDeleteI just watched a YouTube video and it featured Formula 1 drivers who died and most of the deaths occurred in the 60s and 70s and 80s. I just want to say that those drivers who put themselves in unnecessary Risk by participating in the sport but who have wives and children are themselves being selfish. Just like mountain climbers who have wives and children go up and end up dying in the mountains it's a purely selfish thing to do, when you have others depending on you.
ReplyDeleteGuys like that need to have their priorities straight.
Risking your life for fleeting vain glory of a sport is shallow and selfish.
Everything about horses is dangerous, but I would have to say that Cross Country or Stadium Jumping is at the top of the list.
ReplyDeleteFitness & Sports