Watch: Ferrari’s Pironi and Villeneuve join mechanics protest in tragic F1 weekend | 1981 Belgian GP. The race was marred by two serious incidents involving mechanics.

On 17th May 1981, the Belgian Grand Prix was held at Zolder.

The race was marred by two serious incidents involving mechanics, one fatal. In Friday practice a mechanic from the Osella team, Giovanni Amadeo, stumbled off the pitwall into the path of the Williams of Carlos Reutemann. Reutemann was unable to avoid the mechanic, who suffered a fractured skull. He died from his injuries on the Monday after the race. Before the start of the race the mechanics of all the teams staged a protest over the safety measures protecting them, which was soon joined by several drivers (Villeneuve, Prost, Laffite, Pironi and Scheckter) who left their cars. According to 1976 World Champion James Hunt during the BBC commentary for the race, the protest was largely over the narrow pits at Zolder and that the pits were overcrowded, especially with people who were nothing more than ‘hangers on’ who were there to be seen and not for the actual racing.

The race organisers nevertheless flagged the warm-up lap at the normal time, leaving several cars delayed on the grid, either stalled or with their cockpits vacant. The resulting chaos when the grid formed up again at the end of this lap was exacerbated when Nelson Piquet missed his starting position and was sent round on another lap, with the other cars being held in position. As the cars began to overheat, several drivers turned off their engines, among them Arrows driver Riccardo Patrese, expecting another formation lap due to Piquet’s error. However, the organisers began the start sequence as usual once Piquet had regained his position. Patrese was unable to restart his car and waved his arms to signal that he could not take the start. His mechanic, Dave Luckett, came onto the track to restart the car from behind. As he did so, the lighting sequence to start the race was already underway, and the start went ahead despite his presence and Patrese’s gesticulations. The other Arrows driver, Siegfried Stohr, ploughed into the back of his teammate’s car, hitting Luckett. Luckett suffered a broken leg and lacerations but survived the incident. The race continued, and as the field was about to start the second lap, with marshals and Stohr’s disabled car still on the circuit, cars passed by with very little space on the narrow track, and the marshals frantically waved at the drivers to slow down.

As a result of these events, a new rule was introduced forbidding mechanics from being on the grid within fifteen seconds of the formation lap, and the race starter would use greater caution.

Once Luckett had been treated the race resumed, but the result was of little interest to most people. Reutemann won, having also taken pole and the race fastest lap ahead of Frenchman Jacques Laffite and a young Nigel Mansell taking his first podium. A few seconds behind him came Gilles Villeneuve in the Ferrari.

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