Brendan Lines August 6, 2020

A Grand Prix is one of world sport’s greatest live spectacles showcasing high-octane speed and fanfare, but once upon a time competing in a Grand Prix was equally as dangerous as being there. Across Formula 1’s 70 years, Australian officials and marshals have come to be world leaders in training and safe operation of Grands Prix the world over.

In a second part to our series ‘As Aussies As They Come: 70 Years of Australians in F1’ Local Goals takes a look at our unsung heroes standing track-side.

The dangers of competing in Formula 1 is a confronting thought drivers and fans have sometimes naively put to the back of their minds says former F1 driver (from 1970 to 1974) and now Motorsport Australia Director Tim Schenken.

“It’s strange because racing in those days, we used to think ‘thank goodness we’re racing today and not in the fifties,” Schenken says.

Schenken recalls the time he lost close friend Ronnie Petersen, as a result of his injuries from a first-lap incident at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix.

“Even today it’s a bit of a lump in my throat, it’s sad so many lives were lost, but that’s the nature of the sport at the time and of course today that wouldn’t be accepted to have those sorts of accidents.” — Tim Schenken

Today, those accidents would not be accepted, as planning and implementing measures that mitigate and prevent their occurrence has not only lead to safer races but overall better Formula 1 events.

1985: A line in the sand

The Australian Grand Prix (AGP) remains the ‘gold standard’ as one of the best organised Grands Prix in Formula 1.

When the inaugural world championship race was green-lit to go ahead in Adelaide in 1985, many people outside of the city never took race organisers seriously.

1985 proved to be a ‘line in the sand’ for Motorsport Australia organisers, known then as CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motor Sport).

“At that time CAMS wasn’t very highly thought of and a lot of people were concerned or critical that CAMS should be the organisers,” Schenken says.

“A number of people were asking ‘how can this happen? they may be able to run club events but not a Grand Prix!’

“That just showed actually just how good we are and I think from that time onwards Australian motorsport not only drivers, but also officials and organisers have been seen as world class.”

Formula 1’s ventures to US street circuits in Dallas and Detroit the previous year were less than ideal.

Hot mid-summer conditions, coupled with crumbling tracks and the infamous Caesar’s Palace carpark circuit in Las Vegas some years earlier — it’s understandable no one was excited about the addition of another street circuit to the Formula 1 calendar.

Yet the resounding success of the 1985 AGP, the 50^th race in AGP history, came from all corners of Formula 1, former F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone lauded Adelaide’s achievements.

“What Adelaide has done is very bad for Grand Prix racing! They have set a standard some of the established circuits in Europe cannot reach.” — Bernie Ecclestone

Setting the standard

“Not only have we got the best quality marshals in the world but we’ve got the most dedicated army of officials in the world as well, they’re truly outstanding.” — Michael Smith, Motorsport Australia

The standard set by AGP race organisers that year set the bar for all AGP’s that followed, but just what is it about Australian officials and marshals that’s innate to their success?

Director of Motor Sport and Commercial Operations Michael Smith says other Grands Prix around the world have benefited from the assistance and expertise of our race officials and marshals, born out of the AGP success.

Marshals at the AGP – Image myroadtrip.net

“I just think it’s probably part of the Australian mentality, we’ve got a really ‘can do’ attitude and that comes through with our motorsport,” Smith says.

“I think we’ve developed a reputation as far back as the Adelaide Grand Prix in the eighties of delivering terrific motorsport events or events generally, that has enabled us to do some training projects with some other Grands Prix around the world.”

“We’ve been involved with the Singapore Grand Prix, Malaysia, Russia, Korea, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and now the Vietnam Grand Prix.”

What Australians have become renowned for is setting out the framework of safety and engineering around start-up events, especially those run on temporary street circuits like the Adelaide Parkland and Albert Park circuits.

This comprehensive assistance relies solely on an army of volunteer track officials that have helped make the AGP operate year after year.

The AGP enlists the help of just over 950 marshals, despite the eventual cancellation of the 2020 AGP, ironically Smith says the 2020 event is a testament to the dedication of Australian marshals.

“We had all the uncertainty around wether or not the Grand Prix would go ahead on Thursday evening, and as I left the circuit in the very early hours of Friday morning, the one worry I had was wether or not with all the media reporting that was going on, was wether our marshals would turn up,” Smith says

“To turn up at the morning briefing at about eight o’clock the next morning and to see a full contingent of nine hundred and fifty marshals, I think says everything you need to say about the quality and dedication of our marshals, it really was just an outstanding effort and I’m pretty proud to be honest.”

The Volunteers

One of those volunteers at the 2020 AGP, was fire marshal Graham Dickson, Graham was assigned to the McLaren team garage, who were forced to withdraw when a positive COVID-19 case was diagnosed within the team.

Fire marshal Graham Dickson in the Ferrari garage at the 2019 AGP – Image supplied

Graham has been an AGP volunteer for 12 years, bringing to the role over 40 years experience as a volunteer fire fighter, being a motorsport fan is just one of the reasons Graham keeps coming back year after year.

“I have the best seat in the house and because of the camaraderie from making lifelong friendships, you also get placed on a different part of the track each year” Graham Dixon, Fire marshal

Graham’s expertise as a fire marshal plays a hands-on part in the training of other marshals around the world.

“I have officiated at the Singapore Grand Prix for eight years, mentoring and training a young local person there as a fire marshal placed in pit lane with the overseas teams,” Graham says.

It’s these unsung heroes like Graham that put their hand up to play a role in making events safer, despite their proximity to the apparent dangers of motorsport.

Saving the life of a Champion

Over the years of the AGP we as fans remember incidents like Martin Brundle’s crash at Albert Park in 1996, Fernando Alonso’s upside down McLaren in 2016 — the drivers are fortunate to walk away, the marshals make the track safe again and the most delay we have is a safety car, the show goes on.

Mika Hakkinen talks about his Adealide crash to Sky Sports.

But if we think back to Mika Hakkinen’s crash at Adelaide 1995, when a deflated tyre sent Hakkinen off the track at Brewery Bend, one the circuit’s fastest corners — Fans then witnessed an unabridged instance where all the planning and deployment of track safety and medical personnel came together to save the life of a future World Champion.

Under the then direction of Dr. Sid Watkins, an emergency tracheotomy was performed on track and Hakkinen was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for life saving treatment.

Recently in his column for Unibet.com, Hakkinen recounted his devastating accident owing his life to the on-track medical teams.

“That caused some serious injuries, putting me in hospital, and I have the medical teams at the circuit and the Royal Adelaide Hospital to thank for saving my life,” Hakkinen says.

Three-time Formula 1 World Champion and motorsport safety advocate Sir Jackie Stewart stressed how vital the on-track response was in Adelaide to Hakkinen’s survival.

Medical crews at the Brewery Bend incident. Image: Eurosport

“It must be said that the tremendously fast response to his accident and to the medical crew going out, particularly all the people under Professor Watkins literally saved his (Hakkinen’s) life,” Stewart says.

“Without that action, I fear that we would have been saying different things.”

It’s interesting to note that after Hakkinen’s recovery, his donation to the Royal Adelaide Hospital built a much needed heli-pad on the site.

Taking over the reins

Australian officials role in operating Grands Prix peaked in 2019 when Aussie Michael Masi took over as Formula 1 Race Director and safety delegate in the wake of his predecessor passing, the legendary Charlie Whiting.

Michael Masi (AUS) FIA Race Director. at the Singapore Grand Prix – Image: http://www.xpbimages.com

Masi recounts the tragic weekend in an interview with Tom Clarkson, where he was one of the few who knew about Whiting’s passing before it was public.

“It was a tough emotional weekend, particularly knowing what had happened very soon after getting to the circuit but not being able to literally tell a soul,” Masi says.

“But it was something on the other hand I couldn’t be more proud of, the way the entire FIA staff, the F1 community as a whole, with the support of the teams, I was very fortunate that we were in Australia and it was a trackside officiating team that I knew extremely well.”

“Obviously with Tim Schenken as Clerk of the Course, the entire CAMS team and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation whom I’ve had a long relationship, without everyone, that weekend wouldn’t have happened.”

At the time it was the necessary step, but in hindsight it was the natural progression for Masi to take the job, forged by his time in Supercars, F2 and F3 — Masi has just the right pedigree to be the most senior official of the FIA at a Grand Prix says Michael Smith.

“I think Michael in the role he does is absolutely a reflection of the environment he’s come from,” Smith says.

“It’s an absolute endorsement of what we do here in Australia and the quality of our people.”

In an F1 season like no other in 2020, Masi has certainly been dealt some challenges trying to put safety first in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have a season and Masi keeps delivering races that are both safe on track and from a virus.

Featured Image: F1.com