In the modern era of Formula 1, bar Romain Grosjean’s fiery crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, seeing a car burst into flames upon impact is quite a rare sighting.
However, in the decades prior, flames on the race track were almost too common. Fuel tanks were usually located in and around the cockpit area due to the lack of space within the cars, which had no sort of survival cell like we see in the cars today.
The overlooked design often meant that any sort of impact on the cars would rupture the fuel bladders, often resulting in explosive consequences.
This is what happened to Clay Regazzoni’s V12-powered BRM at the 1973 South African Grand Prix. Starting from fifth place on the grid, Regazzoni was battling with Jacky Ickx on lap three before his race came to an abrupt end.
Mike Hailwood pulled the unconscious Clay Regazzoni out of the flames of his BRM
As local racer Dave Charlton tried to make a move on Carlos Reutemann, Charlton lost control of his Lotus and slammed into Mike Hailwood’s Surtees-FINA Ford. The accident caught Regazzoni unsighted, and the Swiss driver ploughed into Hailwood, sending the Brit skating down the circuit.
Regazzoni was immediately knocked unconscious after his BRM car burst into flames. Hailwood, somewhat unaffected by the incident, jumped out of his car and sprinted towards the flames to help his fellow competitor make it out safely.
A few tense moments ensued before marshals spotted Hailwood dragging the unconscious body of Regazzoni away from the flames with minor burns attributed to him. According to Motorsport Magazine, it took over three laps for marshals to put the fire out on the engulfed BRM.
While all of this was taking place, Jackie Stewart moved up from seventh to first, a position he would keep until the chequered flag fell after 79 laps of the Kyalami Circuit. Stewart would go on to win the world championship for his third and final time that season, retiring from the sport following the year’s conclusion.
Mike Hailwood was awarded a medal for his heroic actions
The nine-time motorcycle world champion was awarded the second-highest gallantry award that a British civilian could be awarded at the time, the George Medal, for his part in saving the life of Regazzoni.
Hailwood’s wife, Pauline Hailwood, via Motorsport Magazine, spoke about his heroic silence on the incident, saying, “Mike came into the pits stony-faced. We were staying with an old bike racing pal called Paddy Driver.
“Mike just took me to the bike we were using and we went back to Paddy’s. He said nothing about the fire or saving Regazzoni’s life. It was only when I read about it in the papers the next day that I found out what he’d done.”
The Brit would serve one more year as a driver in F1 before a crash at the 1974 German Grand Prix shattered his ankle so badly that he could never race on four wheels again, with a number of F1 personnel at the time agreeing that Hailwood hadn’t yet reached his peak in the sport yet.