It is a vigil that Formula One’s drivers hoped they would never have to witness again, but they were rallying yesterday to support Justin Wilson, who lies in a coma in an American hospital.
Only 52 days after the death of Jules Bianchi from a devastating head injury, Wilson’s life hangs in the balance after wreckage from a crashed car smashed into his helmet and knocked him unconscious during an IndyCar race on Sunday.
Jenson Button, who raced at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, tweeted: “Keep fighting @justin_wilson. We’re all pulling for you mate. Thoughts with Justin’s family at this difficult time #PrayersForJustin.”
He was joined by Felipe Massa, who suffered a similar head injury when a loose spring bounced along the track during the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix. Massa, too, was in a coma but recovered to drive for Ferrari again and now Williams. “All our thoughts are with @justin_wilson and his family. We are praying for a quick and full recovery. Be strong Justin,” Massa tweeted.
The 37-year-old from Sheffield joins an unenviable club of British drivers shunned by F1, who forged successful careers in the United States only to fall victim to IndyCar’s dubious safety record.
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Dario Franchitti’s illustrious 11-year IndyCar career was ended when the Scot suffered a broken back in a crash in 2013, while Dan Wheldon, from Milton Keynes, was killed at the final race of the 2011 season. Mike Conway, from Sevenoaks, Kent, spent months in a back brace after a terrifying accident during the 2010 Indianapolis 500. Wilson is the latest Briton to suffer the curse of IndyCar.
Wilson was briefly in Formula One in 2003, driving for Minardi and Jaguar. He was a proven race winner in the junior categories, often racing against contemporaries such as Button.
But Wilson’s career was hampered by his height — he is 6ft 4in and holds the record as the tallest driver in F1 — and money. Jonathan Palmer, the former F1 driver, helped Wilson with his cash problems by turning him into a limited company and raising £1.2 million from investors. Murray Walker, the legendary commentator, also took a shine to the bluff Yorkshireman and pledged financial support.
After five grands prix with Jaguar, though, Wilson was ditched so that the team could hire Christian Klien, a young Austrian with substantial backing from Red Bull. Wilson gave up on F1 and headed for the United States where he became one of the Britpack who illuminated American open-wheel racing.
Wilson was in the twilight of his career with Andretti Racing when he lined up at the Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania on Sunday. With 21 laps of the ABC Supply 500 to go, Sage Karam, a US rookie, smashed into the safety barrier and his car disintegrated, showering the banked oval track with bodywork and metal shards. Wilson was following the car and was hit on the head by a piece of wreckage that rendered him unconscious immediately.
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He was airlifted to hospital where Julia, his wife, waits anxiously for news of her husband, who is in a critical condition. The couple have been married for almost a decade and have two girls, aged seven and five, splitting their time between a home in Northampton and an American base in Colorado.
Despite huge improvements in safety, the spectre of death or injury is never far from the racetrack, as vividly illustrated in Belgium on Sunday when Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari suffered a burst tyre at almost 200mph.
A furious Vettel — attempting to be the only driver to complete the 44 laps of the high-speed Spa-Francorchamps circuit on a single pitstop — tore into Pirelli; but the tyre manufacturer hit back yesterday, saying that attempts almost two years ago to limit how long tyres could be used was rejected by the teams. If Pirelli’s limits had been applied, Vettel would have been allowed a maximum of 22 laps on the medium tyre that burst, instead of the 28 he completed before his puncture.
Chapter of accidents
Dan Wheldon The 33-year-old from Milton Keynes, was one of the most charismatic drivers in IndyCar when he took part in the final race of the 2011 season in Las Vegas. The two-times Indianapolis 500 winner ploughed into an accident involving several cars and was killed.
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Dario Franchitti Britain’s most successful motor racing export won four Indy and Champ Car titles and the Indianapolis 500 three times. His 11-year career was brought to an end when he crashed at a race in Houston in 2013, breaking his back. On medical advice, the Scot retired.
Mike Conway He was a promising young star at the 2010 Indy 500 when his car was launched spectacularly into the barriers. The driver from Kent spent months in a back brace and was treated in a cryogenic chamber for a broken back and leg. Astonishingly, Conway won his comeback race 11 months later, although he now refuses to race on oval tracks.