Why was F1 banned in Switzerland?

The F1 Swiss Grand Prix was banned after the 1955 crash at a Le Mans event.

Why was F1 banned in Switzerland?

Swiss Grand Prix

Switzerland is well renowned all over the globe as a picturesque country that receives a lot of tourists every year. The beauty of Switzerland is on a whole different level in comparison to the other European nations. While the beauty of the Country never fails to mesmerize people, there was a time when the nation was well-known for its motorsports heritage as well.

Motorsports was an integral part of the Country’s history, however, in the year 1955, a motorsports calamity struck that changed the whole landscape of motorsports, in particular, of F1 action in the Country. In 1955 a disaster took place at a Le Man’s race that is considered one of the most horrible incidents in the history of motorsports.

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Pierre Levagh, who was driving for the Mercedes team during the event, skipped over the tire barriers, caught fire, and even fired debris into the crowd. Levagh and 83 others lost their lives on that cursed day. Since then, no motorsports action has taken place in the Country, as a ban was imposed on it. However, despite everything, the Swiss Grand Prix did manage to return once on the F1 calendar, but the race was held in France.

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In the year 2018, after a lot of effort on part of the government, a Formula E race was finally held in Zurich after a period of over 63 years. While there was a lot of suspicion regarding the track ahead of the race, the E-Prix took place without any problem, and the organizers were able to take a sigh of relief as the event came to a successful close.

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Would the Swiss GP ever be able to return to the F1 calendar?

Swiss Grand Prix
Swiss Grand Prix

F1 is one of the most dangerous sports on planet Earth, and despite the advancements in the protection of drivers, F1 is still an extremely risky sport. The unpredictability level of F1 is on a whole different level, and it sometimes has led to horrific crashes, even in the recent past. No one can forget what happened with Roman Grosjean in 2020.

While F1 is, to date, completely banned in Switzerland, all of it could change in the upcoming years. Last year it was reported that the Chamber of Cantons (basically the Swiss senate) voted to turn a lot of rules around motorsports in the Country. However, voting on a subject matter is completely different from staging a successful F1 Grand Prix weekend.

Taking into account that F1 began its operations in Switzerland in 1934 and has not raced there since 1955, would it be really feasible to stage an F1 race in the Country? Staging a race in beautiful Switzerland might seem tempting to a few, but it is very unlikely as far as getting into the F1 Calander in the next 5-6 years is concerned.

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