Derek Daly: Mine Worker to F1, Monaco & The Crash That Almost Killed Him

Derek Daly has one of the most extraordinary stories in motorsport history. A kid from Dublin who worked iron ore mines in Australia to fund his racing career, went from Formula Ford to Formula One in 14 months, and became the only driver in history to finish 1st AND 2nd in the same race. In this episode of Racers Unchained, Paul Tracy sits down with Derek for a wide-ranging conversation that covers his unlikely rise through the ranks, the most dangerous era of Formula One, a heartbreaking near-miss at Monaco, and a crash at Michigan that by all accounts should have ended his life — and a whole lot more. Derek's autobiography is out in England in mid-May and in America in mid-July. Stay tuned for details. TIMESTAMPS 0:40 - Welcome & Derek Daly's career stats breakdown 1:28 - How Derek finished 1st AND 2nd in the same race at Sebring 5:49 - From Dublin to Australia: working the mines to fund a racing career 10:07 - Buying a Crosley, meeting John Crosley, and winning the Irish championship 15:24 - Living in a bus in England and the road to the Formula Ford Festival 20:16 - James Hunt, the rain, and Derek's first Formula One race at Silverstone 23:31 - Racing in F1's most dangerous era — Villeneuve, Pironi, and the drivers who didn't make it 27:00 - Almost winning Monaco with no rear wing, on slicks, in the rain 29:24 - Why Derek left Williams and made the move to IndyCar 36:23 - The 219 MPH crash at Michigan that should have killed him 40:49 - Winning Sebring, losing the buzz, and deciding to walk away on his own terms Check out racer.com/bundle for an exclusive RACER+ and magazine offer! Follow RACER on YT:    / @racer.hq   Follow RACER.Podcasts on IG:   / racer.podcasts   Follow RACER.HQ on IG:   / racer.hq   Follow RACER Network on IG:   / racer_network   Follow host Paul Tracy on IG:   / paultracyofficial