MOTORSPORT: Better head protection close in F1

Formula 1 drivers are likely to have a 'roof' over their heads soon – perhaps as soon as next year.

It won't mean completely closed cockpits though.

Concerned to protect drivers' heads more, especially after the deaths of Jules Bianchi in F1 and Justin Wilson in IndyCar, motorsport's world governing body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), is expected to present its proposed solution at the end of this week.

The FIA has intensively studied various options in recent months and is believed to have settled on the 'halo' design that originated within Mercedes-Benz.

The president of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, Alex Wurz, a grand prix podium placegetter and dual Le Mans 24-Hour sports car winner, has said that "the [F1] drivers feel it's time to implement the extra protection at the latest in 2017".

Frenchman Bianchi was on life support for nine months before dying after crashing into a recovery crane when he ran off a wet Suzuka track in the 2014 Japanese GP.

Brit Wilson was killed by flying debris in an IndyCar crash at Pocono, Pennsylvania, last August.

Other deaths in recent years from head injuries suffered in open-top single-seater race cars have included those of another IndyCar racer Dan Wheldon and Henry Surtees, son of the only man to win world championships on two and four wheels, John Surtees.

Wurz said that "the research the FIA experts have done is very thorough and the process has brought forward a clear solution".

"Obviously structural changes are required to the chassis but, with almost a one-year lead time, I don't see any technical person speaking against such substantial safety improvements, especially given the last big accidents in open-wheel racing involved head injuries," he said.

Britain's Autosport has reported that the three designs the FIA has looked at were tested again last week "with the Mercedes 'halo' now emerging the frontrunner".

"The first of the other two concepts, known as the AFP-V2, involves an updated version of a roll cage on the nose of the car, with a trio of protruding blades designed for deflection," Autosport said.

"The second is a centreline roll-hoop consisting of three bars that run from the front bulkhead and connect with the air intake above the driver's head."

Autosport said the FIA was aiming to introduce the 'halo' next season, but "there still remain a number of hurdles to overcome".

"One of the slight concerns with the 'halo' at this stage is that, unlike the other two concepts, it does not absorb energy," it said.

"It therefore has to be made resilient enough to stop a flying wheel.

"The drivers are known to be keen on the design, but one difficulty from their perspective is, while normal forward visibility would be relatively unimpaired, looking up – such as through Eau Rouge [at Belgium's Spa circuit] or turn one at Austin [in Texas] – may prove disconcerting.

"Unlike a fully-closed cockpit, which has been looked at in the past, the 'halo' also allows relatively straightforward extrication of a driver should they be involved in an accident."

Meanwhile, Australia's Daniel Ricciardo was the fastest driver on the first of the two days of the Pirelli-organised test of its new wet-weather F1 tyres at France's Paul Ricard circuit.

However, Ricciardo's former Red Bull teammate and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was fastest in a Ferrari on the second day, when Russian Daniil Kyvat took over from the Aussie in the Red Bull car.

Ricciardo's predecessor at Red Bull, fellow Australian Mark Webber, has now said that Vettel, with whom he famously had a stormy relationship, is the best driver in F1, slightly ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and McLaren's Fernando Alonso.

Five drivers completed 659 laps or almost 2400km of testing for Pirelli at Paul Ricard, with only Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren taking part – running the new rubber on last year's cars.

The circuit's elaborate sprinkler system was used to simulate wet race conditions.

The new cars for the season starting at Melbourne's Australian GP on March 18-20 will be unveiled from mid-February, with two four-day tests scheduled at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on February 22-25 and March 1-4.

Image courtesy of Giorgio Piola Animation