FIA to propose F1 ‘windscreen’ to protect drivers

UPDATE Rumors that the FIA was to mandate protective 'windscreens' for F1 cars from next season appear to be a little wide of the mark. Italian magazine Autosprint suggested just before Christmas that screens could be introduced to protect drivers from flying debris such as that which put Felipe Massa in hospital during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but subsequent stories now claim that they may have been a step too far in the redesign of safety measures in the top flight.

Another Italian source, 422race.com, now suggests that the governing body is ready to ditch its more extreme plan in favor of a simpler modification to the head protection already in place in the modern F1 cockpit. This too, however, would require a change in thinking for the designers, who would have hoped to be close to signing off the final specification of their 2011 machines with launches due over the next 4-6 weeks.

12/23/10 (GMM) The FIA is proposing to mandate Plexiglas windscreens for the cockpits of formula one cars, according to an Italian report.

Autosprint, publishing a photoshopped image of a possible F1 windshield that can be viewed at tinyurl.com/2ew7rf6, claims the innovation would be to protect drivers from being struck on the head.

The exposure of the drivers' heads made headlines last year, when Felipe Massa was seriously injured by a flying suspension spring, days after F2 driver Henry Surtees was killed when he drove into the path of a stricken wheel.

"I'm not saying we need to cover (the cockpit) completely," Ferrari driver Massa said after recovering from his skull injuries. "But maybe there are some other things we can do to the car to stop a wheel hitting your head."

After those incidents last year, Bernie Ecclestone said Professor Sid Watkins – the president of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety – had been commissioned to "deal with" the issue.

The renewed push for driver head safety also comes just six weeks after the nose of Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India rode up and almost struck Michael Schumacher's head during the 2010 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Autosprint said the proposed protective structure, whilst not impeding driver visibility, would be designed to withstand the impact of a flying wheel and the full 640kg weight of an F1 car.

The report said the solution would also need to take into consideration its aerodynamic impact, including the flow of air to the engine airbox and the wings.