Formula One news
'This is a time for cool heads' - Coulthard
28 July 2009With Felipe Massa's Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying crash and the tragic accident of Formula Two's Henry Surtees just six days before having both been caused by striking debris on race tracks, greater head protection is now being considered in the sport. Closed off cockpits is a possible solution, although David Coulthard is less convinced.
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| Cockpit sides have been raised since 2008, unlike here |
Having first competed in Formula One as replacement to the late Ayrton Senna at Williams in 1994, the start of Coulthard's F1 career came after a shocking wake-up call for the sport as Roland Ratzenberger and Senna had both lost their lives on one fateful weekend. "During my career it was not all that unusual to be hit by bits of flying debris - stones that were kicked up by cars ahead and so on," Coulthard explained to The Telegraph. "It is an inherent weakness in the design of a Formula One car and a basic risk of open-cockpit racing.
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| Felipe Massa was knocked unconscious the moment he was struck by a steel spring |
"Perhaps it surprises non-F1 fans that the most vulnerable area of the body is the least protected but I would argue that this feature is indispensable; we could close the cockpit and build machines that are more like touring cars, but that would go against the essence of our sport. Although we have seen two awful crashes in a week, I would advocate the exercise of restraint rather than jump to any knee-jerk response. Safety is uppermost in people's minds right now but that shouldn't influence decisions. Yes, a wheel came off Fernando Alonso's Renault during the race on Sunday, but I think the decision to suspend the team for Valencia next month was harsh and a conscious response to recent events."
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| Alex Wurz was a fortunate survivor of his Melbourne 2007 collision |
Although it may be somewhat a cliché, Coulthard has reminded all that 'Motor racing is dangerous' but agrees that safety remains a paramount concern. "Of course you can try to make it as safe as possible but sometimes accidents do happen," he continued. "Both the incident in F2 involving Henry Surtees and the one involving Ferrari F1 driver Felipe Massa were desperately unfortunate; if either car had crashed into a barrier and the driver had been struck on the head by some sort of projectile then it would have been unlucky, but both guys were on the track and doing their jobs."
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| The spring which hit Massa, such as this, weighs some 800g (1.7lb) |
The Scot went on to stress that there have already been a number of close shaves in recent years from which drivers' survival should not be taken for granted. "After my crash in Melbourne in 2007, when I went over the top of Alexander Wurz's car, they made the sides of the cockpits higher," he explained. "From what I'm hearing, the new reinforced carbon-fibre helmet is what saved Massa's life on Saturday. Nevertheless, there is no getting away from the fact that the head is still exposed to oncoming debris, which begs the question: should there be some sort of screen to deflect flying objects?
"I heard Ross Brawn (Brawn GP team principal) saying that any sort of shield would be shattered by a metal spring weighing a kilo and travelling at 170 miles per hour, but what do they use on planes? You can always develop newer, stronger materials and anything that absorbed energy would at least reduce the risk of fatality or serious injury. As for helmets and visors, they can be made stronger still, although the issue of weight is a factor. I'm all for improving the safety in Formula One; I just don't want to see the essence of the sport compromised - this is a time for cool heads."
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