The Motul-sponsored Toyota Hilux T1+ class car of Toby Price and Sam Sunderland was withdrawn from the Dakar Rally over the weekend, but not because of any damage done to the truck. No, the Overdrive Racing truck made the decision to pull out of the race because Sunderland and his team conspired to hide a concussion from race officials, which got so bad he temporarily lost vision and finally decided it was time to throw in the towel on Saturday.
According to a post on Twitter from team driver Price, “Sammy suffered a concussion on Thursday which we kept on the down low because he really wanted to soldier on like the true fighter he is.”
That’s bullshit, you’re not a fighter for pushing through a traumatic brain injury in a harsh environment like the passenger seat of a desert rally raid truck. A rally co-driver losing his vision could endanger a whole lot more than just himself, there’s potential for things to go pear-shaped real fucking quick.
Ultimately, I’m glad the team decided to withdraw before things got even worse than they already did, but it wasn’t worth “soldiering on” after the wreck on Thursday. Get your head checked, mate.
Don’t for a second imagine this kind of thing is limited to desert racing in the world’s most important rally raid, either. Drivers in basically every form of motorsport have been hiding their conditions from teams or officials for decades, and concussions getting worse have ended careers. When you’re in the cockpit of a car you need your brain to be completely switched on, lest you risk injury to yourself, other drivers, or even marshals and fans.
At the height of the 2021 Formula 1 championship battle, Max Verstappen’s bell was truly rung in his infamous high-speed crash with Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix. The Dutchman was in a battle for his first world championship title, and he hid for years that he’d been suffering brain issues for months after the 51G impact. The British Grand Prix crash was dated July 18, and he later said that during the US Grand Prix on October 24 he considered shutting the car off and retiring because he could barely see.
“Since my Silverstone crash, I’ve struggled with visibility problems, especially on undulating circuits or those with lots of advertising boards on the side of the track. In this race, I wasn’t just fighting against Lewis, but also against blurred images.
“It was like driving a speedboat at 300kph. I’ve never said this before, but it was so bad for a few laps that I seriously considered turning the car off. The only thing that helped was to concentrate on my breathing with Lewis breathing down my neck. An important win that I desperately needed in the championship fight.”
There are some drivers for whom their health and safety outweigh any potential race finish. Fernando Alonso suffered a massive impact during pre-season testing with McLaren back in 2015 which put him in the hospital for three days. At the time team boss Ron Dennis downplayed the crash, saying Alonso was “not even concussed,” which was a lie, and that he “cannot foresee any reason why” he wouldn’t be in the car for Australia. Ultimately the doctors ordered Fernando to sit out the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, and he did.
Scottish four-time IndyCar champ Dario Franchitti retired from the sport while he was basically still at his peak in 2013 following a last-lap crash at the Grand Prix of Houston.
“My last crash, the damage to the brain was caused by the speed of rotation apparently,” admitted Franchitti. “The helmet I wore that day, there’s really no damage. I’d be quite happy putting it back on and running it again.”
IndyCar makes all of its drivers go through a full five-stage evaluation after any big impact. It’s astonishing that Formula One doesn’t require the same of its drivers, and allows a driver like Verstappen to risk brain death and loss of vision while on track. That isn’t to be commended, it’s appalling.
If you want to know what it’s like for a driver to receive a bunch of brain injuries and hide their pain and suffering to keep competing at the top level, make sure you read Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s op ed piece for the New York Times back in 2018 when his brain issues finally caused him to hang up his suit.
So many drivers sacrifice so much to get to the top of the sport, but the risk of permanent brain damage, severe injury, or even death is not worth any trophy, even a Formula One World Championship title. Racing series need to take driver brain health a lot more seriously. This is motorsport, after all, not the National Football League.
