Watkins was born on 6 September 1928 in Liverpool to Wallace and Jessica Watkins. His father, originally a coal miner from Gloucestershire, had moved to Liverpool during the Great Depression and built a business that evolved from bicycle repairs to motor vehicle maintenance. Watkins worked at the garage until the age of 25 and gained a scholarship at Prescot Grammar School, telling his father he wished to become a doctor — an ambition his father disapproved of.
He graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Liverpool in 1956. His research there examined the effects of heat stress on intellectual performance, findings that later proved useful in his motorsport work. He served four years with the Royal Army Medical Corps in West Africa, and during that posting drove a Ford Zephyr Zodiac in the 1955 West African Rally, retiring after the first stage — his only competitive motorsport entry. Returning to the UK in 1958, he specialised in neurosurgery at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. In 1961 he began acting in a medical capacity at a kart race at Brands Hatch, and during his free time served as race doctor at Silverstone.
In 1962, Watkins moved to Syracuse, New York, to become a professor of neurosurgery at the State University of New York. There he continued his motorsport involvement at Watkins Glen International, bringing his own medical equipment and staff because circuit officials provided inadequate supplies. He returned to England in 1970 to lead the neurosurgery department at the London Hospital and joined the RAC medical panel that same year.
In 1978, Watkins met Bernie Ecclestone, then chief executive of the Formula One Constructors Association. Ecclestone, who had encountered Watkins during a medical appointment, offered him $35,000 a year to become the official Formula One race doctor — a sum from which Watkins was required to fund his own airfares, hotels, rental cars, and all other expenses, while continuing his surgical practice in London. He attended his first race in this capacity at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix. His initial appointment was met with hostility from some circuits, which regarded it as external oversight.
The event that most shaped Watkins's early tenure was the 1978 Italian Grand Prix, where Ronnie Peterson crashed heavily on the opening lap and his car caught fire. Fellow drivers Clay Regazzoni, Patrick Depailler, and James Hunt pulled Peterson from the wreckage, but Italian police formed a cordon that blocked Watkins from the scene for approximately 18 minutes, and an ambulance took a further long delay to arrive. Peterson died the following day. In the aftermath, Watkins demanded from Ecclestone a dedicated medical car, an anaesthetist, a medical helicopter, and better equipment. All were provided at the next race in the United States. He also established the practice of the medical car following the field for the opening lap of every race.
In 1981, FISA appointed a Medical Commission and Watkins was elected its president. The following year, at the Belgian Grand Prix, Watkins rode in the medical car driven by Roland Bruynseraede to reach Gilles Villeneuve after a serious accident, intubating the driver at the scene. Villeneuve was airlifted to the Gasthuisberg Hospital in Leuven, where Watkins and Villeneuve's wife Joann together agreed to withdraw life support. Later in 1982, at the Canadian Grand Prix, Watkins reached Riccardo Paletti's car 16 seconds after impact; before he could administer treatment, the ruptured petrol tank ignited. He was protected by his safety clothing but his hands were burned and his boots melted. He extinguished the fire and placed an airway in Paletti's throat.
In 1985, at the British Grand Prix, the drivers presented Watkins with a silver trophy reading: "To the Prof, our thanks for your invaluable contribution to Formula 1. Nice to know you're there." In 1986 he took responsibility for the care of Frank Williams following spinal cord injuries Williams sustained in a road accident. In 1987, when Nelson Piquet attempted to race at the San Marino Grand Prix after a practice crash that Watkins judged had rendered him unfit, Watkins threatened to resign if overruled. Officials backed Watkins; Piquet later conceded it had been the correct decision.
The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was the defining episode of Watkins's career. The weekend killed Roland Ratzenberger on the Saturday and Ayrton Senna on the Sunday. Watkins had been a close personal friend of Senna and, the day before the fatal race, had suggested the two of them leave the track, go fishing, and forget about the weekend. Early in the race Senna struck a retaining wall at nearly 140 miles per hour; Watkins was first to reach him. He concluded at the scene that the head injury was fatal. He later described how, as they lifted Senna from the cockpit, the driver sighed and his body relaxed — a moment Watkins described as Senna's spirit departing, despite being non-religious himself.
Following the race, the FIA Expert Advisory Safety Committee was established with Watkins as its chairman. He also established a rally research group and a karting research group in 2003; these three bodies were consolidated in 2004 as the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety, with Watkins as president.
At the 1995 European Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello and Max Papis failed post-qualifying drug tests for ephedrine. Watkins argued publicly that ephedrine had no material effect on driving ability and that Formula One should not simply mirror the International Olympic Committee substance list. At the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, Mika Häkkinen suffered a high-speed tyre failure at the Brewery Bend and was rendered immediately unconscious. Two volunteer doctors performed an emergency tracheotomy within 15 seconds; Watkins arrived and supervised, restarting Häkkinen's heart twice.
Watkins received the Mario Andretti Award for Medical Excellence in 1996. In 2002 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to improving the safety of Grand Prix racing. The University of Liverpool awarded him an honorary doctorate in July 2004. In July 2008 he received the Most Outstanding Contribution to the Motorsport Industry award, presented by Martin Brundle at the House of Lords.
On 20 January 2005, Watkins announced his retirement from FIA medical positions. Max Mosley, the FIA President, appointed Watkins's deputy Gary Hartstein as his successor and stated that Watkins had "made a unique contribution to improving the standards of safety and medical intervention throughout motor sport." Watkins continued as President of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety until stepping down on 8 December 2011, moving to an honorary role. The following day he received the FIA Academy Gold Medal for Motor Sport at the FIA Gala in Dubai.
Watkins died on 12 September 2012 at King Edward VII's Hospital in London with his family at his bedside. A one-minute silence was observed at the Singapore Grand Prix, and a book of condolence was presented to the Watkins family on behalf of the FIA. A memorial service held at St Marylebone Parish Church in London in January 2013 was attended by 200 people from across the sport. Top Gear magazine named him one of the Men of the Year 2012. In December 2015, a building bearing his name was opened at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust in Fazakerley, Liverpool by Anne, Princess Royal, who unveiled a commemorative plaque and a bust.
Since 1998, the Motorsport Safety Fund has organised an annual Watkins Lecture at the Autosport International Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. Watkins delivered the inaugural lecture and again in 2007; other speakers have included Max Mosley and Ross Brawn. He authored and co-authored several books on racing safety, including Life at the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One (1996), The Science of Safety (2000, with David Tremayne), and Beyond the Limit (2002, with Jackie Stewart).
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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