Henry Surtees: statement from Jonathan Palmer, chief executive of MotorSport Vision
I am absolutely devastated that 18 year old Henry Surtees lost
his life in an accident in the Formula Two race at Brands Hatch
yesterday. This is the saddest time in my 35 years of motor racing
and my deepest sympathies are with father John, mother Jane and
their daughters Edwina and Leonora, together with other family and
friends.
Henry was driving at about 120 mph between
Westfield and Sheene corners on lap 9 of the race when he was
struck on the head by a bouncing wheel and tyre from an accident at
Westfield corner several seconds earlier. It is clear that Henry
was knocked unconscious immediately, and his car then continued
straight on at Sheene Curve, hitting the guard rail. I understand
that the fatal injury occurred instantly and that the impact at
Sheene had no influence on the outcome of the accident.
The race was immediately red flagged and the medical team were
very quickly at the scene. Henry was removed from the car,
stabilised and taken to the medical centre, where he was prepared
to be air-lifted to the Royal London Hospital, the regional trauma
centre. After evaluation and investigations in the intensive care
unit, Henry was found to have suffered a major head injury that was
not survivable.
Henry had joined Formula Two for this first season
of the new championship and had immediately impressed with a pace,
focus and maturity that belied his young age of 18 years. He took
an incredible pole position at Brno in the Czech Republic in only
his second F2 event, and became the first British driver to win a
place on the podium with a magnificent third place at Brands Hatch
on the day before he died. Henry made a big mark in just four
events and looked very likely to be a winner in F2 in the future
and maybe even F1.
Not only was Henry immensely talented but he was also a very
popular member of the whole Formula Two team, making many friends
amongst both the other drivers and the team members, earning
enormous respect everywhere.
John Surtees played a major part in his son's success, carefully
monitoring everything that was going on and meticulously using his
huge experience mentoring Henry and contributing to the all
important set up and strategy. It was such a pleasure seeing father
and son working together so effectively and it was clear that
pursuing Formula Two success was the focus of Henry and John's
lives and something they enjoyed immensely.
There will of course be a detailed investigation into the accident
that claimed Henry's life and we will do everything possible to
understand exactly what happened and why, and see what can be
learnt from this freak accident in the continual quest to make
motor racing safer. It is perhaps ironic that John Surtees competed
for many years at the highest levels of motorsport on both four
wheels and two at a time when safety was given little
consideration, but his son Henry should lose his life at a time
when driver safety has never been greater.
The Williams F1 designed
Formula Two cars comply with the FIA 2005 F1 safety standards
including the fitment of wheel tethers to reduce the risk of wheels
coming off in accidents. The F2 car also includes the latest F1
standards of driver head protection with high cockpit sides and
lateral deformable structures. As with F1 however, wheel tethers
cannot provide an absolute guarantee that a wheel will not come off
in an accident and in a single seater race car the front of the
head is inevitably exposed to the risk, however small, of being hit
by another car or component.
This accident is particularly poignant for me as a father and
brings into sharp and uncomfortable focus the inevitable danger of
motorsport. On Sunday morning my 18 year old son Jolyon and Henry
were sat together, 
amidst all the F2 drivers, joking and
signing autographs for fans. In the afternoon F2 race Henry was
just half a second or so behind Jolyon, trying to move forward
after an earlier spin. As they both dived down towards
Sheene, the bouncing wheel just missed Jolyon, but hit Henry, who
was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. By the evening, I
was with John and Jane Surtees in the same intensive care unit at
the London hospital that Jolyon had been in nearly two years
earlier after his serious quad bike accident.
The awful tragedy has not just touched, but profoundly affected
many people. Our whole Formula Two team and those involved at
Williams F1 are enormously saddened, shocked and stunned by what
has happened and for Henry's dedicated F2 mechanic Don Old it is a
particularly difficult time. When such incidents occur one relies
upon the professionalism of all those involved and I am proud of
the way the medical team at Brands Hatch did everything possible to
save poor Henry's life.
We all know life can be cruel and we
read of young victims of tragedies every day, whether through
accident, war or illness. But nothing can prepare someone for the
loss of their own child and clearly John and Jane are absolutely
distraught. We are all so desperately sorry. At this most difficult
time in the Surtees' life we will of course do whatever we can to
help as John and Jane in particular try to come to terms with the
loss of Henry, someone so special and someone who had already
achieved so much in his short life.
