There was a tragic accident on the last motorsport weekend. Henry Surtees, the son of John Surtees, the Formula 1 World Championship winner with Ferrari in 1964, died on Sunday night after an accident at the Brands Hatch circuit in this season's fourth race of the FIA Formula 2 Championship.

Henry Surtees was hit by a wheel that flew off a car after it had hit the safety barriers, causing him to crash into the guardrail. Surtees died at the Royal London Hospital, where he was taken by ambulance. The 18-year-old had gained a place on the podium the day before, his first of this season.

John Surtees has always been very close to Ferrari ever since he won his F1 title with the Maranello team 45 years ago. He remains a regular visitor to Ferrari events and is held in the warmest regard by Prancing Horse fans. Ferrari issued a statement yesterday that said that "Chairman Luca di Montezemolo and Ferrari are close to John Surtees in this moment of great sorrow."

Also saddened by the death of Surtees was the Scuderia's Brazilian driver Felipe Massa. "I heard about Henry Surtees’ death this morning and it really moved me a lot," he said in a statement posted on the ferrari.com website yesterday. "I’m so sorry for this tragedy and I’m close to his family in this moment of great sorrow. These things remind us how much safety has to remain the priority on the track and in all the other places of motorsport. Over the last years much has been done, but we can’t be inattentive."

John Surtees started his career racing motorbikes, and his exploits on two wheels culminated with winning the premier 500cc title first in 1956 and then for three years from 1958 though to 1959 and 1960 as well as winning the awe-inspiring Senior Isle of Man TT race for three consecutive years. In 1960, at the age of just 26, he switched to F1 making his debut with Colin Chapman's Lotus team at Monte Carlo. He marked himself out as being able to make the transition by coming second in his only his second F1 race and collecting pole position in his third outing. He moved to Ferrari in 1963 and won one race that year (Germany) at the wheel of the 156 before clinching the F1 World Championship title in 1964 with two wins (Germany and Italy) in the V8-engined 158, and in doing so becoming the first (and only) person ever to win world titles on two- and four-wheels. In 1965 he came fifth in the championship (driving the 156 and 1512) but in 1966 he quit the Ferrari team after just two races in the 312/66 (the latter, Belgium, he won) after a disagreement with the outfit over his team mate for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Henry Surtees was following in his fathers footsteps, starting his career in karts at the age of eight and starting the progression up the single-seater ladder, results were coming in and many saw that he could emulate his father.