What's the most heartbreaking moment you've seen in F1?

[foreversideways]

I would consider a sad and pointless loss of life somewhat more heartbreaking than the loss of a race or a podium finish.

[Bononi]

Back to the first post, it's not what was proposed.

Originally Posted by ghinzani

I think leaving fatalities out of this thread might be best, as they are all equally tragic.

That was a good idea.

[foreversideways]

Having rather more important things to do than read every post on this thread i simply followed the headline

"What's the most heartbreaking moment you've seen in F1?"

[Bononi]

Ok, foreversideways.

[JamesRamone]

A few that come to mind are Badoer retiring the Minardi at Nurburgring 1999, Damon Hill struggling to the finish at Hungary 1998 (even though as a 13 year old Schumacher fan i laughed at the time) , Mansells world title destroying tyre blow out at Adelaide, and the whole Andrea Moda F1 attempt

One of my personal heartbreaks was coming back from that advert break at Suzuka 2006 and seeing Schumacher retired, thus handing the title to Alonso

[Peter Ford]

hmmm, there are so many to pick,one comes to mind,monza 99,when hakkienen is leading the race and crashes out leaving frentzen to win in the jordan for the team's 3rd win(think it was) and mika see later crying in the forest,later gaining the nickname the crying finn"".

[TilkeWannabe]

Badoer "99 Nurburgring

Sebastien Bourdais OZ "08; could've had 5 points at the end of that race. I really felt for him when his engine went "poof".

Schumacher "06 Suzuka for sure.

Damon Hill Hungaroring "97, possible Arrows 1st win in about 18 yrs?

Last but not least, Webber and Vettel in torrential Fuji rain. As an Aussie, I couldn't believe it! It couldn't have happened to a greater guy. A while after Raikkonen won the title in Brazil, I realized that if Webber and Vettel finished, Kimi didn't really have a hope in hell of winning the title.

[Daisy]

I think Sutil in Monaco this year was a heartbreaking moment too. 5 points for him and Force India, gone in just a second. All the emotions in the pits later where heartbreaking. And I was so mad at that time, screaming and yelling at the tv, I can't remember when the last time was when I did that.

[strider]

I'd say the loss of Ayrton Senna was the most heartbreaking moment. It happened to be in a racing accident, but it could have been in a road car crash or an aeroplane accident, the loss would have been just as great.

I was never his biggest fan at first, due to the sometimes dubious driving tactics, but I got to know an F1 journalist, who has since sadly died himself of cancer. He was convinced Ayrton was the man and over time he persuaded me. It wasn't just the driving, it was his charisma and the way he could mesmerise an audience when speaking in what was not his native tongue. The clincher was when my friend wanted a quote for a PR piece we were working on. He phoned Ayrton in Japan and came back with just the perfect quote. I've sometimes wondered if he put the words in Ayrton's mouth, but when I read them it's as though I can hear Ayrton speaking them in his own particular way, so I think not.

A couple of years before Ayrton died I had dinner with a then up-and-coming young Brazilian driver, who never made it to F1 as a driver but has succeeded in style in everything else he has done. He is a seriously smart guy - at the time his bedtime reading was Freud. During dinner we naturally got to talking about Ayrton. My friend had the utmost admiration for him, as do all young Brazilian drivers, and he was convinced that when Ayrton retired he would probably go on to become President of Brazil, such was his desire and passion to improve things for his fellow countrymen.

I was reminded of that conversation when reading an interview with Damon Hill in F1 Racing this week. This is what he said about Ayrton:

He was generous at times, but ruthless on track, with Alain [Prost] for example. Seena was an exceptional man. He felt his fame very deeply, and I think he wanted to use it to make the world a better place. And he did, but unfortunately he wasn't around to see it through. His influence went way beyond just driving racing cars.

So that's why I think the loss of Senna was the most heart breaking moment. Apologies for the long post.

[Super Hans]

Originally Posted by strider

A couple of years before Ayrton died I had dinner with a then up-and-coming young Brazilian driver, who never made it to F1 as a driver but has succeeded in style in everything else he has done. He is a seriously smart guy - at the time his bedtime reading was Freud.

Would that be the chap over to the left?

[strider]

Originally Posted by Super Hans

Would that be the chap over to the left?

Yes, well spotted. I was not going to name drop, but I suppose it was a fairly obvious connection.

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by strider

My friend had the utmost admiration for him, as do all young Brazilian drivers, and he was convinced that when Ayrton retired he would probably go on to become President of Brazil, such was his desire and passion to improve things for his fellow countrymen.

I don't know who you guys are talking about, I'm most curious about it, but if he believed (like most die-hard fans) that he would become president, it was such a innocent idea (of that time), that one could only believe that he had n't the slightest perception of the depths and complexity of heading a nation like that. I can only take him as being too young and too unexperienced for believing in that, and certainly if it was today he would be regretting for thinking about such a thing.

[ensign14]

I dunno, Carlos Reutemann and Pele both got to Cabinet level in Latin America, and Christopher Chataway was a Minister over here. And that's without even thinking about Mr W.

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by ensign14

I dunno, Carlos Reutemann and Pele both got to Cabinet level in Latin America, and Christopher Chataway was a Minister over here. And that's without even thinking about Mr W.

Pelé ? Pelé was Minister of sports, actually a merchandising manoeuvre of the government of the time. The moment he tried to exercise his so-called mandate, he was criticized and sent to the void... even if he was only trying to keep up to date with FIFA laws.
But what I meant is really that Senna wouldn't want to involve in politics to try to help people... he never did it, and The Ayrton Senna foundation is the bets proof to that.