Jules Bianchi's crash has reopened the debate about closed cockpits for F1 cars, and inevitably there are contrasting views on the subject.
The FIA has looked at cockpit canopies in the past, but research was put on hold. The trade-off between safety and aesthetics, and the essence of F1, is a difficult one. One man who believes the concept is worth pursuing is Fernando Alonso.
“I probably tend to agree to at least check and try or test the idea,” said Alonso on Thursday. “I think we are in 2014, we have the technology, we have aeroplanes, we have had many other examples that they use in a successful way, so why not think about it? All the biggest accidents in motor sport over the last couple of years have been head injuries, so it’s probably one part where we are not at the top of safety. Even in my case, in 2012 at Spa, I could probably have died there in corner one if it had been 10 centimeters closer to my head. If the technology is there and available, and there is the possibility, I would not exclude it, for sure.”
“I totally agree with what Fernando said, so I think it would be interesting to try, it would be interesting to work on that possibility,” said Felipe Massa. “Definitely, for my accident [in 2009] it would have been perfect. Maybe for Jules, I don’t know. But I think maybe it could have been interesting for so many different types of accident, including the one I had, but I totally agree with Fernando. I think it could be an option and we will see when we could try something or see something to understand if it’s positive or not, but I totally agree with him.”
Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa seen at Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo on August 3, 2009 after his crash in Hungary.
Others are not so convinced: “Sort of a mixed feelings to be honest,” said Sebastian Vettel. “If you look at Formula One cars since the beginning of Formula One and open-wheeled racing, I think it’s one of the things that are very special about Formula One. On the other hand, as Fernando touched on, there’s a lot of reasons why we should look into closed cockpits for the future.”
“It’s a difficult one,” said Jenson Button. “As Seb said, there are positives obviously, in terms of the safety point of view but this is Formula One that’s been open cockpit since the start of time so it’s a very big change for the sport to make. Safety is something that, as I said, we can always improve on so I’m sure it will be looked at whether it is possible to change or not for the future.”
