F1 drivers deceased behind racing car wheel between 1996 and 2010
Drivers with their names marked in red died at an official Formula One Championship race.
To know more about safety in Formula 1, development in safety after incidents and tragedies, check article about safety.
2001 - Michele Alboreto (I)
Michele Alboreto was an Italian racing driver. He is famous for finishing runner up to Alain Prost in the 1985 Formula One World Championship, as well as winning the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and 2001 12 Hours of Sebring sports car races. Alboreto competed in Formula One from 1981 until 1994, racing for a number of teams (Tyrrell, Ferrari, Larrousse, Arrows, Footwork, Scuderia Italia, and Minardi), most notably the Ferrari factory team.
European Formula Three Championship crown in 1980 paved the way for the Italian's entrance into Formula One with the Tyrrell team.
Two wins, the first in the final round of the 1982 season in Las Vegas, and the second a year later in Detroit, earned him a place with the Ferrari team.
Alboreto took three wins for the Italian team and challenged Alain Prost for the 1985 Championship, eventually losing out by 20 points.
Following a poor 1988 campaign, the Italian left Ferrari and re-signed with his former employers Tyrrell, where he stayed until joining Larrousse mid-way through 1989.
Further seasons with Footwork, Scuderia Italia and Minardi followed during the tail end of his F1 career. In 1995, Alboreto moved on to sports cars and a year later the American Indy Car series. He took his final major victories, the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours and 2001 Sebring 12 Hours, with German manufacturers Porsche and Audi respectively.
In 2001, a month after his Sebring victory, he was killed testing an Audi R8 at the Lausitzring in Germany.
In April, 2001, Alboreto was performing straight-line speed tests in an Audi R8 LMP car at the Lausitzring, near Dresden, Germany. A tire blow-out caused his car to veer off track and crash into a wall, killing him. At the time, Audi gave no reason for his death, citing that the R8 had "already completed thousands of test kilometers on numerous circuits without any problems".
Grand Prix Starts 215
Grand Prix Wins 5
Pole Positions 2
Grand Prix Points 186,5
Sorted by the year:
1950 - 1955, 10 drivers died
1956 - 1960, 20 drivers died
1961 - 1965, 6 drivers died
1966 - 1970, 18 drivers died
1971 - 1975, 10 drivers died
1976 - 1980, 3 drivers died
1981 - 1985, 5 drivers died
1986 - 1990, 2 drivers died
1991 - 1995, 3 drivers died
1996 - 2010, 2 drivers died
To know more about safety in Formula 1, development in safety after incidents and tragedies, check article about safety.
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