Grosjean suffered 67G crash in Bahrain
The report into Romain Grosjean’s crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix says the Frenchman suffered a 67g crash on the opening lap of last years race. Analysis by governing body the FIA has identified more than 20 areas in which safety can be improved.
These include changes to the cars, barriers, circuits, driver safety equipment and medical response. FIA president Jean Todt said the report provided “important learnings that will drive our mission to improve safety”.
Grosjean’s crash was one of the most dramatic crashes in years when the car split in two and went through the barrier on the opening lap. He was trapped and suspended in the car for thirty seconds before managing to wriggle out to safety.
The Frenchman suffered burns to his hands, which have now healed sufficiently for him to begin racing in the US-based IndyCar series.
The report concluded that the impact was higher than the estimated at 67G and the actual impact speed turned out to be lower, at 119mph rather than 137mph. The report said that the force of the impact caused the middle rail of the barrier to fail, and “significant deformation” of the upper and lower rails.
The fireball which erupted was caused by fuel escaping from the dislodged fuel hatch on the left-hand side of the chassis and the fact that the engine fuel supply connection was torn from the tank ‘safety bladder’.
The driver safety systems, including helmet, head and neck safety device (Hans), survival cell, headrest and halo cockpit protection system had protected Grosjean and “managed the forces applied to the driver during the impact”.
It took eleven seconds for the medical car to arrive, which allowed Dr Ian Roberts to instruct a marshal to direct a fire extinguisher at the cockpit, where he could see Grosjean trying to escape.
FIA Safety Director Adam Baker said: “Incidents involving fire of this scale are thankfully rare, so it is very important to learn what we can, including the interaction with the [car’s] high-voltage system.
The report made the following recommendations to the World Motorsport Council,
- the geometry of the front of the car’s survival cell and additional load tests
- head restraints aimed at ensuring they do not impede driver egress
- Engine mounting and fuel cell installations
- Reviews of barrier design and positioning
- Reviews of the process for approving circuits
- Updating medical intervention equipment, including fire extinguishers
And there will be further research into several areas including warning systems, and improving existing barriers and fire equipment, as well as new barrier systems.
“Terrifying” cost of technology – Ferrari
Ferrari vice-chair Piero Ferrari has described the technology spend by teams as “terrifying” and not justified by the levels of secrecy in the series and the lack of spectacle on television.
In a rare interview, the only surviving son of founder Enzo believes that F1 needs to reassess how it is presented to fans because he thinks great elements of the live experience are being missed. He believes that the fastest cars in the sports history don’t appear to be on TV, and has questioned why teams spend millions on developing cars only to keep their innovations private.
Ferrari told Autosport, “With the effects of the pandemic, it is not possible to follow F1 except through television. We have the fastest single-seaters in history, but the images that come to us over the TV fail to give those sensations that you experience when you are at the circuit and get to see it in real life.”
He says that they are going fast but looking at the cars on screen you can’t see that they are going that fast or at a different speed to Formula Two, asking what the point in investing in technical solutions as if they don’t contribute to the show.
Asked about the fact that much of F1’s innovations aren’t explained because teams favour keeping their developments hidden to preserve any technical advantage, Ferrari said: “Of course, because some ideas are covered by patents. But we spend terrifying amounts, and then keep everything under wraps. Can you explain to me what sense that makes?”
Ferrari says he remains in contact with former CEO Bernie Ecclestone, who he says agrees with him that F1 needs to make things better for fans.
Williams can enjoy a McLaren revival
Williams CEO Jost Capito says he is “absolutely convinced” the team can enjoy a similar revival to McLaren following its takeover last summer. In December, the team announced that McLaren CEO and Volkswagen motorsport boss would join the team bolstering its management team.
Capito was the first arrival at the team since the Williams family sold the team to the US investment fund Dorilton Capital last August, marking the exit of the Williams family.
The British team has finished last in the constructors’ championship each of the past three years, but enjoyed a performance upswing in 2020 with drivers George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, putting it back in the right direction for the future.
The experience of McLaren in the middle of the last decade has been seen as something which Williams will look to replicate. McLaren finished ninth in 2015 following the switch to Honda engine, since then they have managed to turn around there performance becoming a midfield team, and finished third last season.
Asked by Motorsport.com, if Williams could enjoy a similar turnaround to McLaren across the same timeframe, Capito expressed his total confidence it was possible, saying, “McLaren has done a fantastic job in the recent years, and the answer is very short: there is no reason why we cannot do the same. We’ve got everything in place that we can do exactly the same.”
“To give a timing of that, say two, three, four years, it’s impossible to say. But I’m absolutely convinced we can do at minimum exactly the same as McLaren has done.”
Dorilton’s ownership of the team has put an end to the financial uncertainty facing the team, prompting several important changes for its future. One of the changes is an enhanced technical partnership with Mercedes with them taking on their gearbox and additional parts.
Jenson Button has also returned to the team in an advisory role, with Simon Roberts was named as team principal on a full-time basis after serving in an interim role at the end of last year.
Capito said there would be some further changes to the management structure within Williams after holding one-to-one meetings with all department chiefs in recent weeks, but was glad to have the initial pieces in place.
Portimao likely to be behind closed doors
Organisers of the Portuguese Grand Prix are looking at putting the race behind closed doors as the country battles a second wave of the Coronavirus. On Friday organisers of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, from 4-6 June, have said their race will be held behind closed doors.
However, F1 says that Portuguese authorities would decide whether spectators could attend in the coming weeks. The country is currently on the UK ‘red list’ banning all travel to the country because of the emergence of new coronavirus variants. F1 personnel attending the race will not return to the UK within the 10-day restriction period from such countries.
All will travel on to the Spanish Grand Prix, which follows a week later. After that, some will go straight to Monaco, scheduled for 20 – 23 May, while others will remain in Spain until they have gone beyond 10 days since leaving Portugal before returning to the UK.
All F1 personnel are subject to regular testing as part of strict Covid protocols aimed at controlling the virus. They are also exempted from the UK ban on international travel with restrictions on where they can go being between home and work, but still, need to tested regularly.
The sport has also ruled out vaccination for personnel with it being done in line with the UK vaccine roll-out, some will have already been vaccinated.
Portugal returned to the F1 calendar last year for the first time since 1996 as the sport sought to construct a largely European-based calendar in the pandemic.
The event, at the undulating Portimao track on the Algarve, proved popular and the sport has returned after gaps opened up early in the season as a result of the postponement of the Australian and Chinese races because of immigration restrictions in those countries.
The race in Melbourne due now to take place in November and shanghai expected to be cancelled, unless “something changes”.
Number of things still to resolve before final sign off for sprint race
Aston Martin says there are several things that need to be resolved before final approval is given for the trial of sprint races. Following a long-running push to introduce some kind of race weekend format change, F1 received “broad support” from teams to stage three sprint races this year to set the grid for the final Grand Prix.
The plan is for Qualifying to take place as normal for the sprint race and the results of the sprint race to set the grid for the race.
It was agreed at the last F1 Commission meeting to form a working group to outline the precise details for sprint races, with clarification required on points and prize money payout, as well as how it would impact driver contracts.
Aston Martin technical director Andrew Green explained that there were still several areas that needed to be clarified from a technical side, too, before the team could give its complete support.
Green told Motorsport.com, “We need a set of regulations, and we haven’t got a whole set of regulations yet around it. We’ve seen a proposal, which I think most teams were in favour of examining, but the devil is in the detail and the detail hasn’t been thrashed out yet.”
“There are there are lots of discussion points. You could just think of quite a few off the top of your head, like changing of the car between the events, how much you are allowed to change.”
Under this year’s regulations cars enter parc ferme at the end of FP3 rather than qualifying, but the question remains if there is damage or critical safety issues are found on the car in the sprint race how do the rules allow for repairs.
Although teams have been provisionally supportive of plan, drivers have been less enthusiastic, with many unsure of the rationale behind the proposal.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel has been the most vocal opponent so far, saying sprint races “make no sense” for F1 and could draw attention away from the Sunday event.
Aston Martin and Mercedes to supply safety and medical cars
Aston Martin’s new safety and medical cars this season sharing the responsibility with Mercedes. The British manufacturer has returned to the sport for the first time in over 60 years. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will drive for the team.
The team has a close partnership with Mercedes, who have provided the cars to F1 since 1996. The Vantage and DBX will debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 28. Aston Martin will share duties with Mercedes.
They were on stand by in Bahrain on Monday as Formula Two testing got underway ahead of the opening round at the end of the month.
Stroll underestimated the impact of Coronavirus
Lance Stroll says he underestimated the toll that the coronavirus would take on him. The Canadian was one of three drivers to catch the virus during last season, missing the race at the Nürburgring where he was replaced at the then-called Racing Point team by Nico Hulkenberg.
Stroll later revealed that he had tested positive for the virus, but was able to return to the cockpit in Portugal. However he struggled and retired from the race after a collision before finishing thirteenth at Imola, but he has now said the after-effects of contracting the virus were still taking a toll on his physical and mental fitness.
Stroll said at the launch of the Aston Martin AMR21, “COVID put me out of the German Grand Prix and it probably affected me quite a bit for the following two Grands Prix.”
“Just no energy, physically, and not in the best place mentally. I think I underestimated how much of a toll the virus would take on me, and I did struggle physically in those races.”
Stroll managed to regain his form in Istanbul where he took his maiden pole position, however, the dip midseason cost him a lot of points and cost the then Racing Point team third in the constructors’ championship.
Stroll added, “After that rough patch I was back on form in Turkey, so I started to get my form back. But we lost of a lot of world championship points, there’s definitely a lot of things to learn from that experience.”
“On a positive note, we did finish off the season much stronger, but I think the competition was much stronger towards the end of the year. Not the same as the beginning of the season where we were often cruising fourth and fifth with both cars, sometimes even better than that.”
He says the dip in performance changed the game in the competitive midfield meaning they have to get our head down and do the job.
F1 bans single-use plastic
Formula One has banned the use of single-use plastic bottles with only recycled bottles being permitted. The move is part of the sports long term plan to move the sport towards being carbon neutral by 2030.
The vision outlined last year in response to a range of social, environmental and sustainability issues the teams agreed to a 2025 deadline for ensuring that all the waste is reused, recycled or composted.
While the plan targeted a 2025 deadline to achieve that, F1 has elected to make a big step this year with efforts to dramatically cut back on its own single-use plastic bottles in the paddock. From this weekend the ban on single-use plastic comes into force.
There will be more water stations allowing for people to refill bottle around the Bahrain circuit, paddock, offices and garages. Those who work on TV production, marshals and others who are based around the circuit will be given camelback pouches that contain enough water to ensure they are well supplied for the day.
All the passes issued to teams, drivers, officials and media from this season are made from recycled plastic. Often Sebastian Vettel has been seen clearing up discarded plastic bottles, and last year called for a ban.
Last year he told Motorsport.com, that F1’s environmental push had to go beyond more greener car tech, and had to include doing more at races. he said, “Outside of the cars, I think, we attract a lot of people at the race track, that come and see the race, support the race, support the drivers, the teams.”
“A lot of TV fans, but it is a big event, every time when there is a big event and with a lot of people, you have a lot of waste. People like to have a beer, people like to have a drink, of water, maybe something else.”
