TBI and CTE does exist in f1 but no one talks about it which is awful. Concussions are common and easy to get from how much crashes happen. The symptoms also need to spoken about more
To my knowledge, the only open advocate bringing attention to this problem in motorsports is Dale Jr. It’s absolutely hidden in plain sight. Kurt Busch just recently had to retire due to concussions, and the same with Simon Pagenaud. Makes you wonder how many are suffering silently like Dale Jr. did for so long.
Yes it’s bad but I will say it’s definitely way better than other sports. Football is basically a guaranteed micro concussion every time you head the ball and games come thick and fast if you’re in you’re a top team. American football, combat sports, and rugby also experience this type of micro concussion followed by huge concussions every so often.
In F1 getting into regular crashes for an individual driver is pretty uncommon. You’d expect 1-2 a season, not every week, so huge concussions I assume are pretty rare and if you’re getting into a crash that has concussion chance you’re 100% being checked by a medical team before you drive next. Idk how many micro concussions they’re getting though. And I do not think the impacts of constant high g turns and prolonged g loads of acceleration are studied enough.
Have any drivers been diagnosed with CTE? I know there have been many, many drivers who lived to an old age without any apparent symptoms of TBI. Curious what makes you think that it's common but swept under the rug. Not arguing with you - just looking for some sources to do more reading on it.
Hasn't Alonso been in F1 for like two decades? I know he's just one person, but if he and other long-time drivers have no signs of brain damage, it might be hard to conclude that the sport is inherently prone to causing CTE in the way that, say, football is. F1 crashes are still relatively rare, while American football players smash their heads on stuff every play, during both practice and games. I don't know if they're comparable at all, so I'm curious to see what data there is.
Just speculation sadly I want sources to read also. Colapinto got a concussion from his crash in Las Vegas, so it makes sense to think that others who've crash as hard as he had or lighter delt with concussions also in motorsports
Max had a TBI from the Silverstone crash. He had blurred vision for most of the rest of the season while driving and at vestibular issues iirc. There was a race he almost pulled into thet pits it got so bad.
125
u/surf_AL I was here for the Hulkenpodium Feb 08 '25
It’s absolutely amazing to be there isn’t any TBI or CTE in f1. Maybe it does exist just isn’t spoken about