Zolder 1981 - ik stond er op te kijken:
Patrese's motor slaat af op de grid en zijn mechanicien wipt over de muur om hem terug aan de praat te krijgen. Ondertussen wordt toch de start gegeven en Patrese's teamgenoot Stohr knalt keihard achter op Patrese, precies op de plaats waar de mechanicien zat.
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On Friday, there had been tragedy in the cramped Zolder pitlane, as Carlos Reutemann had inadvertently run over Osella mechanic Giovanni Amadeo. The poor Italian was in bad shape after the unfortunate accident, being transported to hospital with serious head injuries, sustained during his fall. Understandably, the mechanics were livid with the organizers and the FISA and got full support from the drivers.
While emotions lingered on, they suddenly fired on Sunday, as the main event turned into a demonstration. Suddenly there were angry mechanics all over the place, heading the dummy grid in protest against the pitlane conditions. Immediately the drivers, led by Gilles Villeneuve, started to join them, some of them showing their solidarity (Laffite, Patrese and Pironi among them) while others started discussions with the mechanics. This must not have looked like good PR for the organizers and so they decided to flag the field away in time, any which way. Those drivers who hadn't joined the picketline were off on their warm-up lap while others were still walking back to their cars. There was chaos all over.
Then, returning from his warm-up lap, Nelson Piquet overshot his spot and was sent on another lap while the rest was kept waiting. Needless to say, the one-and-a-half minute wait did not go well with the remaining 23 engines, which were hotting up quickly on a standstill grid. Under the impression that there was going to follow another warm-up lap, several drivers then shut off their engines, Riccardo Patrese being one of them. Stunningly, with Piquet back in place, FISA starter Derek Ongaro continued with the starting sequence, although Patrese had been frantically waving his hands for over 30 seconds, prompting Arrows mechanic Dave Luckett to jump the fence with his air jack and come to Riccardo's aid. Confusion still reigned as Ongaro, struck by temporary loss of eyesight, gave the green light.
Patrese, his stalled Arrows a sitting duck on his fine 4th place on the grid, saw himself being past left, right… and then, centre. A big thump meant his A3 was hit from the back, ironically by his team-mate's similar car. Unbelievably, sandwiched in between was Dave Luckett, who had nowhere to go. One of the poor mechanic's legs was shattered right there and then. Already wound up by circumstance, Riccardo was furious, throwing his helmet to the ground in irate fashion while Stohr suffered a nervous breakdown on the spot, falling out in tears over the drama. To no-one's surprise the two Arrows drivers were non-starters when the race was finally flagged away. To make matters even worse, the following day Amadeo died of his injuries.
The accident between Stohr, Patrese and Luckett was cause for an immediate rule change - the very same that David Coulthard fell victim of in the 2000 Canadian GP. Remembering the events at Zolder, DC got off the hook lightly with his 10-second stop-and-go penalty.