1970-01-01 02:00:00
Aug 10, 2021, 1:52 PM ET
The history of Formula One is, unfortunately, the history of error and solution, and I say unfortunately because each “error” in safety or each gap in it that is revealed with some serious accident, leads to taking measures in the face of new dangers.
And this is not exclusive to this serial or motor racing, it is the story of man’s learning: I burn, I will never touch the pyre again; The child drowns, I cover the well.
In the 50’s the pilots did not always wear helmets, they did not have fireproof clothing (they wore short-sleeved polo shirts), there were no seat belts, the gasoline tanks were real bombs; Then in the 70’s the cars continued to be made of steel, a material with less impact absorption than the later carbon fiber, the front axles passed under the drivers’ legs and frontal crashes were a guarantee of leg fractures, at best. of the cases.
The height of the rails that surrounded the tracks were real guillotines, some escapes in dangerous curves led to walls or deadly structures, the spectators were stationed so close to the track that they looked like rallies.
In the 90’s the height of the side of the cabins of the single-seaters for the drivers left the shoulders and the entire head exposed from below, and thus thousands of details that were solved little by little, accident after accident, error after error, test after test. proof.
The death of Ayrton Senna caused the greatest and most recent revolution in track and car safety.
Thus today, the accident of the young Frenchman Jules Bianchi in Suzuka will surely mean an adjustment in the safety of the Great Circus and I can almost sign with you that we will not see a crane again on the track while the cars roll in the race or practice, or very probably They will not be cranes like the one the Frenchman found in his mistake on Sunday.
Bianchi hit the back of a crane that was trying to dislodge Adrian Sutil’s Sauber from the track, when Bianchi lost his way at the same point, under a yellow flag and persistent rain.
The angle at which he hit the tractor caused serious head injuries to Bianchi, who is now struggling between life and death in a hospital in Japan.
Many will say that this was a foreseeable danger. That obstacles unrelated to the nature of the track that are not tire barriers, guardrails, pit walls, gravel or sand traps, are always meaningless, but the proper use of cranes and tractors to quickly remove vehicles stranded on the road , has also been a source of safety for the pilots.
Now it is clear that it is much better to have retractable arms, as happens in Monaco, that take the cars from outside the track without representing a foreign object within the limits of action of the rest of the cars.
The association of Formula One drivers, GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers Association), now chaired by Alex Wurz, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, must raise their voices and ask for immediate action, otherwise they will miss the most serious race mishap in F1. since the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994.
Let us remember that María de Villota’s accident, also in a Marussia, was during practice, but also against a vehicle that was within the possible trajectory of an out-of-control car.
With the few images that exist and a detailed explanation of the mishap of the 25-year-old Frenchman being given on Monday, it seems that in addition to the poor location of the tow truck, the impact of the car was in the only vulnerable area for the pilot: the free space that remains laterally and in front, where part of the helmet appears.
That is the Achilles heel of F1 cars in terms of safety, if for some reason the cars run into a protrusion from the front (De Villota case) or the side (Bianchi) the head has no more protection than the helmet. There has already been talk of raising the side walls of the cockpit even further, but it would result in a detriment to peripheral visibility, so tests have been carried out to have a transparent capsule that covers the pilot completely.
This now poses a danger of suffocation or being trapped in the event of fire, in addition to the spirit and tradition of single-seaters, but in the interest of safety these capsules can be developed.
We must not forget that Formula One is the laboratory where the automotive industry develops the most important advances, or where do you think traction control or ABS came from?
Let’s hope, with all our hearts, that Bianchi ends only in a bad experience, that he returns to the tracks and that this Sunday in Suzuka helps everyone who comes race safer.
#Bianchi #crash #change