How Did F1 Become Safer?

Question

I've just watched a video dedicated to fallen F1 heros and wondered what steps the sport has taken to stop such injuries occuring today.

http://forumula1.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=227

Answer 1

F1 introduced safety measures for the same reason everyone else does in any sport or industry: death, money, and scandal.

Barriers were erected because too many spectators died. Fuel tanks were better protected because too many drivers burned (Peterson, Lauda).

Car construction changed to carbon fibre because it was lighter; it was more expensive, but winning made it cheaper by gaining new sponsors (although Alan Hunt's crash at Monza played a large part in proving its worth).

Nowadays, deaths are a rarity in even the fastest racing series. Thankfully, it's not like it was in the 1960s when one or two drivers died every year. Jackie Stewart had the balls to call out everyone and put his career on the line, rather than his life.

There's one level of safety that F1 and NASCRAP fail on while Champ Car and the IRL get "A" grades: emergency vehicles and crews. CC/IRL have trucks and workers who travel with them, and put a doctor in every truck. CC/IRL *ALWAYS* get a vehicle to the scene of a crash within 30 seconds.

For all its financial resources, F1 can't afford 3-6 such vehicles to travel to each race, or even to hire local workers? That's scandalous, especially after Brazil in 2004: Raikkonen and Alonso crashed _in front of_ the pits, and *nobody* attended to them for over a minute. That's how Ronnie Peterson died at Monza, nobody got to him in time; he died in the car, but would have survived if the rescue crews had come sooner.


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Answer 2

I say no, one visibility, already limited would be hampered by the general F1 car layout, a Le Mans racer is wholly designed to be a closed roof, just putting a roof on a current style would be out of the question. Two, pit stops and qualifying, the extra time in driver removal would cause such a void between different teams, drivers and possible problems, a touring car has a shell with roll cages and doors, making this problem similar equal and far safer. The Surtees incident was terrible but so rare and unlikely it would not be an effective idea to redesign the whole F1 car and remember Michelle Albereto at Le Mans 2001? You can still be killed given the accident.

Answer 3

Crash tests, design changes, new safety regulations, new materials for the cars, the reintroduction of traction control (banned from 1993), new safety cell designs, better driver training, a 3-layer tire wall over any concrete wall, tracks redesigned, bigger run-off areas...

This list could go on for much longer. I'll just describe some serious accidents that happened since 1994:
1999, Silverstone: Michael Schumacher's brakes fail at Stowe and he crashes into the wall. it was a head-on collision, but the only injuries were broken legs that kept him out of the running until there were 2 races to go.
2002, A1-Ring: Nick Heidfeld loses control of his Sauber at high speed and crashes laterally into Takuma Sato. Both cars are severely damaged, but the drivers are only slightly injured. Sato gives everyone a scare by staying in the car; he was caught up by debris but suffered only minor injuries.
2003, Interlagos: After Mark Webber demolished his Jaguar, Fernando Alonso hit one of the tires from the crashed car and had a huge crash himself, hitting a tire wall at over 220 kph, smashing it and stopping on the other side of the track. The race was stopped, he ended up being classified 3rd; he emerged from the car very shaken, he was taken by an ambulance, but he had no serious injuries.
2005, Shanghai: Narain Karthikeyan's Jordan leaves the track and suffers a huge crash at over 150 kph due to a possible failure in the TC system; the helmet of the driver takes a beating and the driver escapes with a sore neck, but unhurt.

Answer 4

By the introduction of the Survival cell, safer fuel cell, 4 point seat belt, Hans, most important of them all the roll test which plays a crucial roll when the car rolls in an accident. Summing up very step taken to make F1 safe it is a better place to be.

Answer 5

I'm sure you'll get lots of technical answers but really, it can be traced back to Jackie Stewart. He led the revolt to make cars and circuits safer. Until then, there were laughable attempts at medical help, circuits had wire fences and TREES(!) along the side (with no protection), and areas with no guard rails so cars could run into ditches. Also, cars are much safer now and have to be crash tested prior to the season to ensure they are as safe as possible. Just look at some old footage of Grand Prix in say the 50s and 60s. You'll be horrified to see what they had to put up with.

Answer 6

First to correct other answerers the HANS device did not become mandatory in F1 or other forms of racing until after Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s death in NASCAR in 2000 which was years after Senna's death.

The influence of Jackie Stewart was immense as other people mentioned. Immediately after Senna's death they added chicanes and made all the tracks tighter which decreased speeds in an effort to make things even safer.

Answer 7

It's a combination of the efforts of Jackie Stewart in the 70s and then Michael Schumacher after the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994. Their efforts combined with the technical improvements others have listed above.

Answer 8

I think with the introduction of the HANS device after Senna's death as well as a sturdier and effective monocoque. We're also seeing new safety features introduced on tracks like better tyre walls and run off areas.

Answer 9

I think the fuel cell was a major step in improving safety, apart from the five point seat belts.

Answer 10

I believe Jackie Stewart was the most insistant and was listened to because of his motoring prowess....things have improved with every death since then.

Other drivers and organisations have carried the torch since then.

Schumacher has also helped too....he certainly needs to with his wham-bam-champion-man attitude!!