Lewis Hamilton talks about tragic life taking accidents in motor racing and F1
F1 News
Since the beginning of racing, motorsport has been plagued by tragic life taking accidents. Even in this modern era of racing, the drivers are not safe. Anthoine Hubert tragically lost his life earlier this year and throughout Formula 1's history, a number of drivers have lost their lives.
The events at the Belgian Grand Prix shook the grid but for many, it wasn't the first time they had seen a life be lost at a racing circuit.
"It wasn't the first time I've seen that happen in my career," Lewis Hamilton said to BBC Sport.
"I remember quite vividly when I was young [aged eight] I won this race in Kimbolton and Daniel Spence died and that was a tragic time for me as a kid, the first time I had known someone to die. And I was just with him that day."
Motor-racing has had a number of tragic incidents over the years. Countless lives have been lost and each one impacts the racing community in a major way.
"I remember watching Ayrton [Senna] when he watched [Roland] Ratzenberger crash and seeing his face," Hamilton said. "There was a lot of deja vu in that experience.
"There was never a second I thought I wasn't going to keep racing. The fear factor never crept in.
"That was an important factor for me. Because I remember when that kid died, when I was eight, one of my best friends at the time quit racing. Fear crept into him and he just quit. For me, I was like, if that ever creeps into me, I know that's the last legs of my career."
Racing drivers are a unique breed and should be admired for taking the risks that they do every time they step into their car.