MONTREAL -- Italian race driver Riccardo Paletti -- who would have turned 24 today -- could not have been saved by a faster rescue after his car crashed at the start of the Canadian Grand Prix, an investigation into his death has revealed.
Dr. Jacques Bouchard, track physician at Gilles Villeneuve Circuit, said Paletti died 'probably within minutes of the crash.'
The Italian driver's Osella crashed into the back of Didier Pironi's stalled Ferrari coming out of the starting grid in Sunday's race.
'The signs from medical examinations at the car and after reaching the hospital were that he died probably within minutes of the crash,' said Dr. Jacques Bouchard. 'His pupils were dilated, which was a sign that he was beyond help.
'We did feel a very light pulse and because of that, we applied all medical procedures until we reached the hospital.'
Bouchard, who attended one of two investigations into the accident Monday, said surgeons at Royal Victoria Hospital found the driver's chest and stomach filled with blood from a torn aorta.
'Even if he was operated on at the track, he could not have been saved,' Bouchard said.
Derek Ongaro, the International Federation of Sports Automobiles (FISA) safety inspector and official starter, said 'reaction time was very good' from fire and rescue teams, which arrived at the scene of the accident in only 18 seconds.
'You cannot criticize anything that happened concerning the rescue operation,' Ongaro said.
He said Paletti's was the first accident on the starting grid in Formula One racing since its starting system was introduced in 1977, adding the Italian driver's inexperience may have caused the crash.
It was Paletti's first time on a Formula One starting grid, Ongaro said. In Paletti's only other Grand Prix start, in San Marino April 25, he started from the pit lane.
A second investigation, by the Quebec government's Sports and Leisure Ministry, also found track rescue and medical teams faultless in the fatality.
FISA scrutineer Gabriel Cadrigher, who also attended Ongaro's technical investigation, said a study of the wreckage showed Paletti's engine was running at 10,500 revs -- indicating a speed of more than 120 mph -- when he struck the Ferrari. The front half of the car was completely smashed.
Pironi, anxiously awaiting the green light to start the race, jumped his car twice before stalling it. The French driver then raised his hand to signal other drivers to go around him.
A Grand Prix press officer said films showed Paletti made no attempt to maneuver around Pironi's car.
'He was so close to (Raul) Boesel, he either didn't have enough time to react or his reaction was too slow,' the official said.
Boesel, driving a March, nicked the edge of Pironi's rear tire trying to cut around him and spun across the track. Paletti, following 12 rows back from Pironi, the pole-sitter, crashed straight into the Ferrari.
The pace car arrived at the scene in nine seconds, followed nine seconds later by the first rescue team. He said it took 24 minutes from the time of the crash to extract the driver from the car and put him on a helicopter to the hospital. Between six and eight minutes were spent 'stabilizing' Paletti with cardio-pulmonary resuscitation before loading him on the helicopter.
