killed, he may have saved the life of five-time Formula One world champion Fangio, who maintained that a hand-signal from Levegh to slow down, a moment before he struck Macklin's car, was the deliberate warning that had saved Fangio's life. While Mercedes withdrew from the race as a sign of respect to the victims (and later from motor racing in general for the next 30 years), Mike Hawthorn and Ivor Bueb continued in their Jaguar to win the race. The accident was a major contributor to changing attitudes about the acceptance of danger in motor racing and an increase in the desire to make courses safer for spectators and drivers alike. The small British firm of Bristol Cars, whose entrants achieved a 1–2–3 finish in the 2-litre class at Le Mans that year, decided to abandon racing altogether as a result of the tragedy, scrapping all but one of their racing cars. Fitch became a safety advocate and began research into automotive safety, some of which have advanced into motorsport. Levegh is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) References External links Remember Le Mans 1955 1955 Le Mans Disaster Pierre Levegh at motorsportmemorial.org 1905 births 1955 deaths 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Filmed deaths in motorsport French Formula One drivers French ice hockey players French racing drivers French male sailors (sport) Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in France Racing drivers from Paris World Sportscar Championship drivers