Professor Sid Watkins 1928–2012

Professor Sid Watkins, the former long-serving FIA Fomula One Medical Delegate, has passed away in a London hospital. He was 84 years old.

Watkins is best known for his work in F1 and is credited for a general raising of safety standards in the sport, including the development of better techniques for removing drivers from cars and improved crash structures.

He started in F1 in 1978 shortly before the death of Ronnie Peterson and was one of the first one the scene after Ayrton Senna crashed at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. Senna was a close friend of Watkins and triple world champion often shared his deepest thoughts with Watkins.

When Watkins retired from F1 in 2005 Max Mosley, then FIA President, said: “Professor Watkins has made a unique contribution to improving the standards of safety and medical intervention in Formula One and indeed internationally throughout motor sport.”

James Allen shares a less familiar tale of Watkins assisting a passenger on a commercial flight: “In the early 1990s, I was on a long haul flight back from a Grand Prix when a man unconnected with racing collapsed in the downstairs deck of a BA 747. A group of us went in search of the Prof, finding him upstairs on the Business Class deck. Sid woke up immediately, came downstairs and performed a tracheotomy on the man, saving his life.”

On track, Watkins is acknowledged as saving the lives of several F1 drivers, including Rubens Barrichello (Imola 1994), Gerhard Berger (Imola 1989), Martin Donnelly (Jerez 1990) and Mika Hakkinen (Adelaide 1995).

Via his twitter account, Barrichello paid the following tribute: “It was Sid Watkins that saved my life in Imola 94.great guy to be with,always happy…tks for everything u have done for us drivers. RIP”

He will be greatly missed.

[Source: James Allen | Pic: F1 Journal]

UPDATE: A statement from the Watkins family has been added below.

WATKINS FAMILY STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF PROFESSOR SID WATKINS

13 September 2012

Statement: “Professor Sid Watkins, Formula One doctor and leading neurosurgeon, died peacefully in a London hospital last night aged 84 after a short illness. His family would like to thank everyone for the many messages of support and the touching tributes from the world of motor racing, medicine and beyond. There will be a private family funeral in Scotland followed by a memorial service in London in the coming months, details of which will be announced shortly.”

The Watkins Family