I don't quite know what to make of this post-Spa cockpit frenzy.
Since Fernando Alonso narrowly missed being conked on the head on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix, the headlines have been filled with talk of closed cockpits, front roll hoops, and all manner of driver head protection chat.
If only it were actually news, and not something that the FIA has been working on since 2009, when Henry Surtees was killed by a flying wheel one week before Felipe Massa was injured by a suspension spring.
This year alone, I've written several pieces about the FIA's on-going efforts to better protect drivers' heads.
GP WEEK 29 April 2012:
FIA test forward roll hoops
GP WEEK 20 May 2012:
Driver head protection “inevitable”, says Whiting
GP WEEK 15 July 2012:
Safe cracker
The effort to improve driver safety is a permanent one. As techology progresses, the ways in which we will be able to protect drivers will necessarily evolve. The FIA is well aware of that, and as a result invests a not inconsiderable amount of money into researching new methods.
And that is how it should be.
What the FIA is good at is taking the long-term view. Rather than reacting to incidents by mandating closed cockpits following a series of head injuries, the organisation has spent the past three years trialling various methods of head protection.
Closed canopies were tested and abandoned, as they caused as many problems as they solved, not least with regard to driver extraction and general visibility (which isn't all that great in the cars we have today).
So the FIA moved on to forward roll hoops, which don't restrict visibility or driver extraction, and which are capable of deflecting an impressive amount of force.
Because they didn't have a knee-jerk reaction to the accidents of Surtees and Massa, we're not stuck with an imperfect solution.
When additional head protection measures are introduced - and they will be, with Charlie Whiting having said they were inevitable earlier this year - it will not be as a consequence of the media squawking over the past two days.
No, it will be as a result of years of diligent research. And that is exactly as it should be.
Since Fernando Alonso narrowly missed being conked on the head on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix, the headlines have been filled with talk of closed cockpits, front roll hoops, and all manner of driver head protection chat.
If only it were actually news, and not something that the FIA has been working on since 2009, when Henry Surtees was killed by a flying wheel one week before Felipe Massa was injured by a suspension spring.
This year alone, I've written several pieces about the FIA's on-going efforts to better protect drivers' heads.
GP WEEK 29 April 2012:
FIA test forward roll hoops
GP WEEK 20 May 2012:
Driver head protection “inevitable”, says Whiting
GP WEEK 15 July 2012:
Safe cracker
The effort to improve driver safety is a permanent one. As techology progresses, the ways in which we will be able to protect drivers will necessarily evolve. The FIA is well aware of that, and as a result invests a not inconsiderable amount of money into researching new methods.
And that is how it should be.
What the FIA is good at is taking the long-term view. Rather than reacting to incidents by mandating closed cockpits following a series of head injuries, the organisation has spent the past three years trialling various methods of head protection.
Closed canopies were tested and abandoned, as they caused as many problems as they solved, not least with regard to driver extraction and general visibility (which isn't all that great in the cars we have today).
So the FIA moved on to forward roll hoops, which don't restrict visibility or driver extraction, and which are capable of deflecting an impressive amount of force.
Because they didn't have a knee-jerk reaction to the accidents of Surtees and Massa, we're not stuck with an imperfect solution.
When additional head protection measures are introduced - and they will be, with Charlie Whiting having said they were inevitable earlier this year - it will not be as a consequence of the media squawking over the past two days.
No, it will be as a result of years of diligent research. And that is exactly as it should be.
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