Have you ever wondered why there isn’t a Swiss Grand Prix? After all, races are held annually in neighbouring Austria and Italy, while the Monaco GP is also held some 562 kilometres to the south in Monaco.
There was a Swiss Grand Prix held between 1934 and 1954, however, before a complete ban on motorsport and circuit racing was imposed in 1955. But why was the ban proposed, and are attitudes in Switzerland finally beginning to change?
Why was circuit racing banned in Switzerland?
On June 11th, 1955, the annual ‘24 Hours of Le Mans’ race was being held at the Circuit de la Sarthe near Le Mans in France. This iconic, and also infamous, race had been launched in 1923 to provide an alternative to grand prix racing for sportscars, with a greater emphasis placed on endurance and stability than speed.
Rather than producing the usual drama and excitement though, the 1955 iteration is synonymous with the greatest ever tragedy in the history of motorsports.
After a collision between French driver Pierre Levegh and Austin-Healey driver Lance Macklin on lap 35, the former’s Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR was launched into the air and over a protective earthen berm. The vehicle was travelling at around 200km/h at the time that it entered the spectator area, ultimately killing 83 fans and injuring around 120 more.
Levegh himself was also killed on impact, while the event led to an immediate ban on motorsports in France, Spain, West Germany and Switzerland. Only the Swiss implemented a permanent, legislative ban in response to the tragedy, however, outlawing all circuit racing and only making provisions for hill climbs and selected rallies.
Making the case for motorsport in Switzerland
The initial decision to ban motorsport in Switzerland was arguably a little knee-jerk reaction to the Le Mans horror, although track safety concerns were shared by both officials and fans in the wake of the crash. However, motorsport (and especially Formula 1) has retained a cult following of fans in the country, encouraging the government to gradually ease its legislative stance over time.
In addition to rally driving and hill climb time trials, motocross is also permitted by the Swiss authorities. They also relaxed their ban in 2017 to allow the inaugural Zurich Formula E race to happen, while Bern has held a similar ePrix event the following year, they were solely for electric vehicles.
This created a heightened demand for motorsport to return, with popular Swiss betting platform SchweizerSportwetten.info offering news and predictions across a growing array of disciplines.
It also covers Formula 1 and Indy Car racing in significant detail, particularly with home-grown drivers like Sébastien Buemi and Romain Grosjean having enjoyed success in these sports of late.
Other successful Swiss motorsport drivers include Clay Regazzoni, who competed for 11 seasons in Formula 1 and won a total of five grands prix. He even finished second in the 1974 Drivers’ Championship, just three points shy of Emerson Fittipaldi.
Given the length of the motorsport ban imposed in Switzerland, the number of successful Formula 1 and circuit racing drivers produced by the country is genuinely impressive, highlighting the enduring appeal of racing within the country.
Overturning the ban; but will circuit racing ever return to Switzerland?
In 2022, the Chamber of Cantons (the Swiss senate) finally voted to overturn the legislative ban on circuit based motorsport in the country. This has theoretically paved the way for a return of circuit track racing in Switzerland, following the success of the two Formula E ePrix and a successful public petition in 2020.
This will be good news for the Swiss-based Sauber Motorsports team, which first entered Formula 1 in 1993 during the discipline’s first ‘turbo era’. Although they remain the only construction team without points in 2024, Sauber enjoyed a more positive race in Singapore, with drivers Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas finishing in 15th and 16th place respectively.
The Swiss Motor Racing Academy may also benefit from the decision to lift the circuit motorsport ban, while the ongoing ‘F1® in Schools’ program (which introduces students to engineering and project management) may benefit from a more expansive rollout too.
The question that remains, of course, is whether the decision to overturn the 69-year ban will actually herald the return of circuit racing on any kind of mass scale? After all, there are no designated circuit racing or Formula 1 tracks in the country, while the cost and logistics of construction are often prohibitive.
The recently built Bilster Berg Driving Resort in Germany was met with significant local opposition when it was first projected, for example, with members of the local community and politicians all raising concerns. Climate activists also lobbied to stop the project, due to concerns of emissions and the wider environmental impact.
So, even if the Swiss authorities were to propose even a basic circuit for Track Day driving and hosted no official events or races, it would take a considerable amount of time before construction was finalized. This means that the decision to overturn the motorsport ban is unlikely to lead to immediate change, or a return to professional circuit and Formula 1 racing.
The last word
Notwithstanding the legacy of the Le Mans crash, it’s curious that the Swiss imposed such a stringent (and lengthy) ban on circuit racing. After all, motocross arguably has a worse fatality rate than Formula 1 and similar sports, while safety standards have improved markedly in the 69 years since the ban.
Regardless, the impact of the ban is likely to be felt for years to come, and it will take some time before Swiss fans are able to attend a home Grand Prix.
