Felipe Massa

[Christian Lyngbye]

They wouldn't need to make a bubble just some aerodynamic glass/plastic in front to prevent drivers getting debris in their face. It would probably increase drag and I don't know how it would perform in rain but that's up to the engineers to sort out.
I don't know why noone has thought about the possibility of being hit by debris in the head at 150-300 km/h because it is almost certainly fatal if it has significant mass and hits straight on. Perhaps it's so unlikely that noone has cared.
No matter what it's a nasty accident and it certainly is sickening to watch.

I hope Massa gets better and has a chance to compete for the championship once again.

If FIA needs more incentive to make more head protection mandatory watch this video:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6JKhN9KdmE[/ame]

This is two years old.

 

[GAIAjohan]

Things already happened in the 1960's..
Belgian GP 1960, Alan Stacey got a bird in his face. Loses control and jumps high over a crest.

France GP 1970, Jochen Rindt got a stone against his head but survives
France GP 1972, Helmut Marko gets a stone in his eye and loses sight with that eye.

in 1987 Johansson hit a deer but survives, the engineers have more trouble as they find parts of the deer everywhere in the car

Than Cristiano da Matta, a deer again.. And of course last week

Such thing just happen in open cockpit cars. If you're afraid of that you shouldn't drive an open cockpit car

 

[Gareth Hickling]

I remember Doohan hitting a load of birds, He was doing well over 150mph when he had to pull out a dead bird from his handlebar!

 

[Christian Lyngbye]

They could still make something like showed in the attachment to at least prevent tires hitting people in the face.

The older cars did have some sort of windshield or curving section and not just a flat part in front.

 

[Johannes Fulop]

hope all goes well for him.
best wishes

 

[Mark Birney]

Surtee's accident could have easily been avoided IMHO if the cars had wheel tethers like most other open wheel formats, the wheel just came flying off after impact and sadly we all know the consequence when it bounced back onto the track.

Wheel tethers were, I'm sure, in place. The fact is, the wheel came off the hub.

I hope they don't make it a closed cockpit sport. I am not saying I prefer it to be unsafe, but F1 has always been an open cockpit sport. For one thing, to prevent something like the GP2 incident posted earlier, the side head protection could be raised to the same height as the helmet.

To be honest, that is pretty useless...

They could also consider a visor in front of the driver (bigger than the little perspex visor/windshield already in place) to deflect debris oncoming, along the lines of this:

Edit: Interesting interview with Ross Brawn regarding the incident:
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/07/26/brawn-reassures-do-not-overreact-after-massa-s-incident/

He says that the canopies on the car would make extraction of drivers more difficult, thats another reason not to do it.

 

[kalniel]

Yup if you're going to sit drivers on top of a load of fuel with a hot engine inches behind them then getting the driver out quickly is a much more pressing concern than impacts with the helmet which are statistically far less likely to happen.

 

[Martin Bulgin]

Surtee's accident could have easily been avoided IMHO if the cars had wheel tethers like most other open wheel formats, the wheel just came flying off after impact and sadly we all know the consequence when it bounced back onto the track.

To avoid another incident like Massa's unfortunate and very unlucky incident would require a big shift in design of open wheel racing cars and cocoon them in an enclosed cockpit. If that is done then you need to ensure the cockpit is removeable even in an accident quickly and efficiently but a quick release system could fail or jam if its damaged or warped in an impact which then introduces a new danger of drivers being trapped in their cockpit in a fire.

If you do this for F1 cars then you have to do it for other open cockpit series and so then what do we do for motorcycle racing? how do we cocoon them as I'm sure parts fall off their machines too.

#

They DO have tethers

“The Williams F1 designed Formula Two cars comply with the FIA 2005 F1 safety standards including the fitment of wheel tethers to reduce the risk of wheels coming off in accidents"

Quote from Jonathan Palmer.

http://www.crash.net/f3/news/150067/2/palmer_my_saddest_time_in_motor_racing.html

 

[Damian Henderson]

doctors say it is too early to judge whether felipe massa will race again after it was revealed on monday that the brazilian suffered damage to his left eye in his hungarian grand prix crash.

Massa is still in hospital recovering from a skull fracture and concussion after he was hit in the face by a spring from rubens barrichello's car.

Local media quoted the hospital's professor robert veres from budapest as saying that the eye injury could be enough to end massa's f1 career.

"he has suffered some damage to the eye," said veres. "we don't know whether he'll be able to race again."

the aek hospital in budapest is scheduled to hold a press conference this evening to update the media on massa's injuries.

The spring struck massa just above his left eye, smashing his helmet and fracturing his skull.

Doctors also confirmed on monday that the operation that was conducted on saturday afternoon saved massa's life.

Ferrari president luca di montezemolo visited massa in hospital on monday.

quote

 

[John Debacquer]

That would be a verry sad way to end Massa's career...

 

[Mark Birney]

Wow... Here he is, in good health, yet a small eye injury could end his career.

I hope this won't turn out to be true...

 

[Kevin Ascher]

Oh that would be so tragic if he couldn't race again.
Still, almost meaningless compared to the fate of Henry Surtees.

 

[Mark Birney]

True Kevin. He might lose a career, but he keeps a life. Just to put this into perspective. This is what nearly killed Massa:

Makes you think, don't it? Something this small could do so much damage.

 

[Kevin Ascher]

Indeed, one day you are happy you have become a race driver and another day everyone who loved you hates the day you became a race driver.

All in all, I think if you see the impact, we'd rather be glad that he is alive than argue but the (small,big??) bodily harm he suffered.

 

[James Johnson]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77383


Massa is out of the Sedated Coma and Doctor Denied the Earlier Reports of Eye Damage.

 

[Kevin Ascher]

Zsiros denied the earlier reports that Massa had injured his left eye, which led to speculation about his future participation in Formula 1.

Peter Bazso, the hospital's medical director, explained that it was in fact too early to tell if there was any damage because Massa was still unable to open the eye: "We can give no positive neither negative answer to this, because at this stage the vision cannot be examined."

Bazso made it clear however that a full recovery was still entirely possible for the Brazilian.


Quite interesting quote I think..

 

[Trebor901]

If and thats a huge if, this guy gets back behind the wheel of an F1 car can you imagine the support he's now gonna have out there from even non Ferrari supporters.

 

[Mark Birney]

Indeed, Rob.

 

[James Yates]

I hope he makes a full recovery - very good driver and very popular. Wouldn't like to see his career ended like that.

 

[Péter Bártfai]

Thank God he's all right! I watched all TV news to hear everything about his status (since I wasn't near internet). Now they said his eye isn't injured and he can leave hospital in one week / 10 days. I also hope he makes a full recovery! My favourite driver in F1!