Formula 1, a Liverpool hospital facility named after Sid Watkins

Although we are not talking about pilots, Eric Sidney Watkins, also known only as Sid, è a legend of Formula 1. He never raced in a Grand Prix and yet, he followed the Circus and its protagonists for almost 30 years, from 1978 to 2005, as official doctor of Formula 1. Who passed away on 12 September 2012, due to the numerous efforts made in the name of safety in Motorsport, the Merseyside Hospital in Liverpool named after Professor Sid Watkins a new structure of the city hospital, which will be open to the public from January 2015.

“Professor Sid Watkins was one of the greatest medicine men I've ever known. He made a determined contribution to saving the lives of many people and that is why we will never forget him,” commented Jackie Stewart. The British Professor did not only deal with Formula 1: after the events of Imola in 1994, when Ayrton Senna died during the San Marino Grand Prix, Watkins became President of the FIA ​​Institute of Motor Sport Safety, carrying out research in the field from the spinal and brain stimulation, also dealing with pain therapy and Parkinson's disease.

Eleonora Ottonello