Hands up who knows what went on yesterday? Could you explain it to the rest of us? It was madness, and whilst I know we haven't yet unravelled it all completely, I'm kinda hoping for more of the same today. It's about time we had a race that wasn't straightforward.
There seem to be rumours circulating that Glock won't be able to race tomorrow, and that the FIA have said no to Kobayashi filling in. I haven't seen this confirmed anywhere, but it sounds likely. We're pondering the point of having reserve drivers if they're not allowed to actually race.
The FIA also haven't managed to produce a revised grid yet. They wanted to take some time to think about which order the five place grid drops are applied to ascertain who starts where. You would think they might be able to do this quicker than 24 hours, but there you go.
I just wanted to once again say how supremely awesome the marshals were yesterday in Japan. They were at the scene of any accidents within seconds. Now, granted, a lot of the accidents occured at the same place, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they were on the ball and much better than we have seen at other, very recent, circuits.
That'll do it for now. Don't forget the Debrief stream will be along much earlier than normal, as we are moving bits and pieces of our house around. I'll see you in the comments.
Welcome to F1 Safety – the latest mini series from Sidepodcast, focusing on the elements that make Formula 1 as safe as it can be. We’ve already looked at clothing and the car, now it’s time to concentrate on circuits.
Although FOM, and therefore Bernie, is currently in charge of deciding which circuits should get on the calendar for each year, the FIA have plenty of say about what goes on where. Safety Delegate Charlie Whiting is sent to each circuit before a race to inspect the safety facilities and make sure it is up to scratch. So, what kind of things does a circuit need to provide in terms of safety?
Firstly, the track has a designated direction. Most of the races on the calendar travel clockwise, but a select few run anti-clockwise. This will affect which side the pit lane is in relation to the track, and how the entrance and exit is designed. Cars must only go around the track in the stated direction, even the safety and medical cars have to adhere to this, no matter how far around they have to go. There can be access roads linking sections of track to make life a little easier though.
If a driver can stick to the asphalt, all is well. Otherwise, there are various features to the area surrounding the track that are there to help. The kerbs were originally designed to make going off track safer, with the raised bumps intended to slow a car down. However, these days, drivers try and use the kerbs to make the track just that little bit wider. It might be uncomfortable, but hitting the right line could save a tenth or two each lap.
If there is no space around the tarmac, for example in Monaco or Valencia, then crash barriers are in place. There is often high fencing as well, to protect the crowd from any wayward car parts. The barriers vary from concrete to tyres, depending on if they’re just lining a straight, or in a potential crash zone. Where there is room, run off areas will be introduced to allow space for a car to slow down.
Now, run off area has become quite a contentious issue in the last few years. There are two options – gravel or tarmac. Gravel is ideal for slowing a driver down, hopefully bringing the car to a stop before it hits the barriers. However, if a car rolls on the gravel, then the roll hoop can dig in and get buried. This would put weight onto the drivers’ helmet which is obviously not a good situation. That’s where tarmac comes in. The downside to this is that a car won’t be slowed down in the same way as on gravel, and if it is a brake failure or similar cause for the accident, the car will smash into the barriers without losing speed.
At various points around the track, marshals are posted. They are there to wave flags to advise drivers of the track status and any potentially dangerous things to be aware of. They also secure accident sites, operate fire extinguishers, recover cars and clear away any debris. They are not allowed to get involved with medical procedures. This year, the marshals safety has been called into question with the introduction of KERS, with the solution seemingly to be an extra pair of rubber gloves! It looks as though this problem will go away next year, as KERS is likely to be ditched.
One of the most dangerous parts of an F1 track is the pitlane. This is the only place where cars and people, aside from drivers and marshals, interact, and speeds are reduced instantly. There’s a white line on the entrance and exit of the pitlane, and this means a driver must reduce his speed to 60km/h during Free Practice, and 100 km/h during qualifying and the race. In Monaco, this is even slower due to limited space in the pitlane.
Whilst we’re in the pitlane, there’s a couple of things to note from a stop during a race. The fuel rigs have specially designed valves that try and limit the exposure and release of fuel and vapours to the extreme temperatures in the air. It is oh so easy for those fumes to catch fire and a car can be engulfed in flames in an instant. There is always a fire extinguisher near by, though. The lollipop man helps guide a car to his pit box, but is also there to release the car when the coast is clear. Those rear view mirrors we discussed yesterday are not good enough for a driver to note when it’s safe to move off.
There are also lights at the end of the pitlane to indicate when it is safe for the cars to move out on to the track. This can signal when a session starts and ends, they will be red if the safety car train is passing, and they will be blue if a driver is exiting his pit stop and another car is approaching out on track.
Circuits also need to provide exceptional medical facilities but we’ll talk about those next time.
That’s all for this episode of F1 Safety. You can let me know what you think about the state of the current circuits via email: Christine@ sidepodcast.com, and join me tomorrow for the next episode.
From what we know about KERS, as long as everything is going to plan, it's all fine. That's true for a lot of things, I suppose, but when it comes to storing electricity, it becomes slightly worrying. Many of the questions we've been asking, quite rightly, concentrate on how safe the drivers will be, as they navigate the circuit on a race weekend. When it all goes wrong, and the car breaks down, then a lot more people get involved. How safe are they?
Picture the scene: A race weekend. The cars leave the pits and meander to the grid. Presumably there is no KERS involved here, or the scrum of people who appear during the grid walk will all have to wear protective clothing. Bernie wouldn't want to entertain the King of somewhere with rubber boots on, would he?
The grid clears, and they head off on the formation lap. But Massa has stalled. What happens then? Is he safe to be pushed?
The lights go out, the race begins. Rob is sitting on the pit wall, giving Massa directions over the pit-to-car radio. However, poor Felipe isn't having a good day and the car pulls to a stop. He has to jump out (possibly literally). When the marshals come over to move the car, are they allowed to touch it? We've seen mechanics with the big protective gloves on, perhaps the marshals will get these as well. How does it work when it comes to getting the car on the crane and returning it to the pit lane? Will the marshals in Singapore be able to cope with these new demands?
Perhaps the situation turns out slightly different, and Massa has managed to get the Ferrari back to the pits. He heads down the pit lane and stops in the box. It's going to take the mechanics a few minutes to get the car going again, and Massa has to wait. Presumably, Rob won't be wearing the big overalls and gloves, so is there no possibility of him leaving the pit wall and approaching the car, or dashing into the garage?
Standing nearby, Ted Kravitz is reporting for the BBC. He has his fireproof overalls on, but presumably can't hold a microphone with the big gloves on. Chances are, he's not going anywhere near the car, but things happen. How much danger is he in? And the camera operators, who clearly have to get much nearer to the cars than the pit reporter does?
Since it’s introduction, we’ve had a fire at the Red Bull factory, a BMW mechanic has been injured, and terrifying electricity warnings have appeared up and down the pit lane. It may all be as safe as houses, but no one is talking about it and all we’ve got to go on are the things we can spy from testing photographs. The concern about KERS won’t abate until we get some answers to our questions. It’s all very well the powers that be telling us everything will be fine, but if they were even slightly more transparent about the safety concerns, then we’d stop asking.
Back when Coulthard was discussing testing a car with KERS on, he laughed and said he was ordering a full-body suit made out of rubber. I thought he was joking.
So far, we've had three sessions of Free Practice, four hours of on-track action, and many, many incidents. Singapore has already far surpassed what I was expecting, so I don't see how it can't live up to the hype. Who knows what Qualifying will bring, but this is the place to find out.
The only thing letting the side down at the moment is the abysmal performance of the marshals. On the one hand, it's incredible to see so many drivers struggling, hitting the walls, and generally having issues. But every time someone goes off, we have to endure the painful sight of incompetent marshals. They look like they're not quite sure what they're supposed to do, or as Neil said in the comments, whether they're even allowed to touch the cars.
Hopefully this isn't going to be too big a problem, because it's the only blight on what is already turning out to be a stellar weekend. The scenery continues to be stunning, and I can't wait to see what qualifying brings.
Alonso looks completely on it so far this weekend, but we'll have to wait and see what happens with fuel loads. Hamilton is also showing well, as is to be expected, whilst Kovalainen struggles down in the mid-field. Kovi has also used his joker engine change for this race, so hopefully he can pull his socks up a little bit. Raikkonen and Fisichella both saw early ends to their Free Practice session today, and it's worth keeping an eye on them to see if it affects their qualifying performance.
It's all about your predictions now, then, with the Live Commenting Live... Thing ready and waiting to hear your thoughts. Tell us where you are, how you're watching, and who your money is on for pole. Thankfully, ITV do know about qualifying so we will be watching that, whilst looking at the live timing, assuming it is working. 5live were mysteriously not on for FP3, but they should be up and running for qualifying. I will see you in the comments!
It’s all about going as fast as you possibly can and beating your opponents at all costs. But at high speeds, and with such delicate equipment, safety is an important part of the sport. From the basics of a helmet and gloves, to specifics like fireproof underwear are all there to protect the driver when things go wrong.
Your driver is sitting in the cockpit, often referred to as the tub, or survival cell. This is because the basics of a driver’s survival starts here. Constructed of carbon fibre, it is both light and strong. Crash structures are built into the front and rear of the cell along with the roll hoop whose job it is to protect the driver if the car rolls, hitting the ground before the driver’s helmet.
Keeping the driver in his seat is more than your average seat belt. It comprises of four belts joined by a central buckle, shoulders and hips, to ensure the driver is fixed securely. His most vulnerable part is probably the head and neck. Aptly, this is protected by then HANS system – head and neck support system. It’s a device that joins the driver’s torso to his helmet and it’s goal is to reduce the loadings to a driver’s head and neck during the rapid deceleration caused by an accident.
Moving away from the driver to the car, you’ll find on each wheel a restraint system, which prevents the tyre from flying off uncontrollably. As well as protecting the driver, this also protects marshals and spectators, as do run off areas and tyre walls. These are in place for when a car loses control and leaves the track. Smashing into a tyre wall greatly reduces speed and impact, and run-off areas provide a safe haven for an out of control car.
Before a car can even take to a track, it has to pass a number of mandatory FIA crash tests. These are similar to the crash tests your average road car goes through, to ensure that the structure can absorb a certain amount of force on impact. This guarantees a minimum level of safety for the driver.
Now we understand how a driver is protected, the last thing to cover in the area of safety, is what happens immediately after an accident on track. If the accident is relatively inconsequential, marshals will be asked to wave a yellow flag, indicating that drivers must slow down around the affected area. If the accident is more serious, the safety car can be deployed. During a race, the safety car is constantly on standby. So, a car may be stranded in a dangerous position on the track, in which case a safety car will be deployed to slow down the remaining racers. With the safety car deployed and the cars slowed behind it, marshals are able to clear an accident in relative safety so that the race can continue without further disruption. Cars remain queued up behind the safety car until stewards deem the course safe again, at which point the safety car peels into the pits and the cars resume racing when they reach the start / finish line.
Although it may seem quite a convoluted process, it’s important to keep your drivers running safely throughout the season.
Having covered all the basics of Formula 1, the last topic in our series will be how you can get to a race.
