Ex-F1 driver narrates shocking near-death experience at Le Mans
Anthony Davidson gave a glimpse into what goes on inside a driver's mind as he shed light on his crash at Le Mans in 2012.
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Anthony Davidson and Le Mans, images via Getty Images and F1
Though crashes are a part of racing, the repercussions of such incidents can be quite fatal. While motorsports have improved safety drastically over the decades, drivers dealing with injuries are not uncommon.
Subsequently, former F1 driver and current Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson explained his near-death experience at the 2012 Le Mans race while racing for Toyota. Davidson has an interesting career in F1. He has remained active in the series for decades but made 24 race starts with three teams.
The 45-year-old remained loyal to Brackley-based teams over the years and was with Mercedes‘ for over a decade, both as a reserve and a simulator driver. However, his career’s limelight resides on the endurance side.
Davidson won the World Endurance Championship in 2014, but his racing career came to a halt in 2012 when he had an airborne crash with a GT car that resulted in him receiving two vertebrae fractures in his spine.
As soon as my car went up in the air… it was like a dawn of realisation, ‘This is the moment!’ It felt like I was going to die… But then I felt completely at ease with it. It’s almost comforting to know that in those moments… this calming drug is pumped out through your body.
Anthony Davidson said (via F1)
The F1 pundit revealed that he had an intuition that something bad would go down over the Le Mans weekend. That ultimately became true. He was able to make a full recovery and continue on his racing ambition in WEC.
Anthony Davidson reflects on his close connection with Mercedes
Anthony Davidson had achieved his dream of winning the WEC championship. He also stayed with Mercedes during his time in endurance racing and continued doing simulator work after he took a step away from open-wheel racing.
With him having a warm bond with the German giant, Davidson reflected on his time with the Silver Arrows throughout his span at Brackley.
There’s a finite amount of time as to how long I can keep driving the simulator, but at the moment I still very much enjoy it and feel like I play a bit of a part in the developments to the Mercedes car. It just feels like family at Brackley, 22 years on from joining them, and it’s a great privilege.
Anthony Davidson said (via F1)
The 45-year-old has been working tirelessly as an F1 analyst. He has given several opinions over multiple conspiracies looming around the grid. Davidson’s analysis and statements are generally viewed out of bias and objectivity.
However, his perspective does not usually fall in line with the current trends of the grid. Most recently, Davidson’s claims of Lando Norris competing with Max Verstappen on equal terms were silenced over the Brazilian GP weekend.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)