Remastered footage of 1970 Spanish GP still gives the chills
Upscaled and extended footage of a bygone era in Formula 1 has emerged, with a film depicting the famous crash that occurred in the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama.
Motor racing has always been embed with risk, but fifty years ago Grand Prix racing's perils were lurking at every corner on every lap.
At the start of the Spanish round, Jackie Stewart's March sprung into the lead from the second row to lead the field on the opening lap.
But as the Scot negotiated a tight right-hander shortly after the start, all hell broke loose behind when a broken axle on Jackie Oliver's BRM pitched the Brit's car out of control and into the path of the Ferrari of Jacky Ickx.
With cars on full tanks, a fiery blaze ensued, leaving both drivers struggling to exit their cockpits with little time to spare. While Oliver scrambled rapidly out of harm's way, Ickx's get away was slower as the Belgian battled with his harness.
The Ferrari driver eventually managed to liberate himself, only to find himself alight as he ran across the track in search of a marshal and a fire extinguisher.
The extraordinary footage is not only a reminder of the ever-present dangers that swamped F1 back in the day, it also displays the limited safety measures that were in force.
From a bystander positioned nonchalantly at the apex of the corner as the field barrels down to firefighters tackling the blaze with basic equipment as drivers press on, the stunning footage appears as surreal.
Both Ickx and Oliver were lucky to escape the worst that day, while the race allowed Stewart to take March to its first Grand Prix win.
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