FROM DANGER TO PRECISION: the evolution of safety measures in Formula One
- pitwallstories
- Sep 6, 2024
- 4 min read
Do you know the bitter taste in your mouth when you realize that something didn't go as it should have? And the regret of seeing before your eyes the consequences of a decision made too late? Surely you have thought of many different situations, maybe one of those you’ll read here today. Yes, because motorsport is unfortunately full of these examples. I am referring to all those cases in which it was decided to intervene after the damage had been done, to try to limit the consequences, but above all to prevent such disasters from happening again.
Motorsport is not a synonym for safety. We know it, the drivers know it, and anyone who works there knows it. However, this should not be translated into a discharge of responsibility: no one is willing to risk their own life and that of others just to experience the adrenaline of speed. Starting in the 70s, the International Federation began to issue regulations that imposed measures dictated by the need to increase the safety level of cars and circuits. The path towards safety is a decidedly long one, and it continues today. The keyword: awareness.
One of the first drivers to show awareness was Jacky Ickx in 1969 at Le Mans. He refused to start if you had to follow the custom of the time: you’d have to cross the track on foot, then jump into the car and start without wasting time fastening your seatbelt. Considering it too risky, Ickx started by walking dramatically across the track and took his time fastening his seatbelt. During the first lap of that race, John Woolfe went off the track and, not having fastened his seatbelt, was thrown from the cockpit and died instantly. The starting procedure was completely changed the following year. Another sensational episode was Niki Lauda's accident in 1976 at the Nurburgring (Germany): despite the very questionable weather conditions, the race was held anyway. Lauda lost control of the car and hit the guard rails; it caught fire and was even hit by two other cars that were arriving at that moment. Thanks to the intervention of other drivers, he was able to escape death, highlighting, however, the inadequacy of the rescue systems.
The first important changes occurred at the end of the 1970s. First of all, the circuits began to be equipped with medical centers and the presence of a helicopter also became mandatory. The FIA also revisited the tracks in order to make them safer and equipped with escape routes (we must keep in mind that, in fact, the spectators on the edge of the track were also in danger). In 1983, the so-called "ground effect" was also banned from single-seaters, considered too dangerous for the unstable cars of the time (in short, the layer of air passing under the single-seater was exploited). The decrease in mortality was also a consequence of the ever-increasing importance of sponsors, especially television sponsors, for whom sport was a product to sell.
The real revolution, however, came after the darkest weekend in the history of Formula 1: the 1994 Imola Grand Prix. Free practice began with Rubens Barrichello’s accident, fortunately not fatal. Roland Ratzenberger was not so lucky: there was nothing that could be done for the Austrian. The weekend also ended with the death of Ayrton Senna, effectively marking the end of an era.
I wish I could say that this was the last tragedy we remember but, as you know, that is not the case. If we take any picture of a Formula 1 car from the 90s, we notice that the driver's head and shoulders were left very exposed. Today, the problem has been solved thanks to Kevlar (the same material used to produce bulletproof vests). While from 2015, some parts of the cockpit will be made of titanium, the tires have been blocked so that they cannot fly off in a crazy way. The most vulnerable part of the driver is the neck: in 2003, the HANS (Head and Neck Support) collar was introduced, a protection that attaches to the back of the helmet to allow the head to remain stable in the event of a crash and to reduce the risk of fractures. There have also been major changes in helmets, especially following Felipe Massa's serious accident in 2009, when he was hit in the face by a spring lost by Barrichello's Brawn.
When analyzing safety innovations, one cannot help but think of the “halo” which, perhaps not by chance, we can translate as “aura”: miracle or not, it has certainly saved and continues to save many lives. It consists of a protection system introduced in 2018: the idea of a protection system for the drivers’ heads was born from the tragic accidents involving Henry Surtees (F2, 2009), Jules Bianchi (F1, 2014) and Justin Wilson (IndyCar, 2015). In all three cases, the drivers were hit in the head by flying objects, suffering serious injuries or even death, as in the case of the French driver who we remember every year during the Japanese Grand Prix. If there is anyone who has experienced first-hand the importance of the halo, it is Romain Grosjean, who in 2020 was involved in a serious accident in the Bahrain Grand Prix: he was traveling at 221 km/h when he lost control of the car and hit the protection barrier. It will take Grosjean 28 seconds to get out of the cockpit, a real nightmare, but we are lucky enough to be able to tell you about it with a sigh of relief: if it hadn't been for the protective device, the driver would never have survived the impact!
Sometimes, unfortunately, you have to crash into something before you understand what the right thing to do is. It is certainly easy to speak with hindsight: the perception of events by those who are only a helpless spectator is not the same as those who lived through those moments. Yet, if there is something that these tragedies teach us, it is that even simply talking about them can help avoid similar misfortunes in the future. Although we would have preferred that these great personalities had helped us overcome these obstacles with their contribution in life, we can say with certainty that their tragic disappearances have left us with more answers than questions.
All that remains is to thank them: yes, because if every weekend we can experience this beautiful spectacle, with the awareness that motorsport is a safer world, it is, above all, thanks to them.
Written by Emma
