Open cockpits were always something characteristic of a Formula 1 car, however, not everyone is happy with this situation, and recent occasions have given reason to people’s protests, complaining that there shouldn’t be open cockpits anymore.
The way the cockpits are developed and built has been improving ever so slightly, and specially after Ayrton Senna’s death, it became a number 1 priority to make the cars more resistant to heavy impacts, protecting drivers from bigger injuries, and even death, which was starting to become too regular on the sport. And this improvement was shown in several heavy crashes: Ralf Schumacher in Melbourne 2002, Kubica in Montreal 2007, Mark Webber in Valencia 2010, Romain Grosjean in Spa 2012, and others. Maybe it these accidents had occurred a decade earlier, they could all have been fatal. However, some accidents have proven that safety isn’t yet a solved subject.
Earlier today, another disastrous accident took place during an IndyCar race where Justin Wilson was struck by what is believed a nose cone of Karam’s car, which had crashed a few moments earlier in the race. While attempting to avoid the car, this front part was still in mid-air, hitting Wilson’s head, leaving him unconscious, without giving any response. This unfortunate situation reminds the 2009 Qualifying session in Hungary, when Felipe Massa was struck by a piece of Barrichello’s suspension, leaving the Brazilian driver suffering heavy damage despite the helmet’s best efforts. Jules Bianchi’s 2014 accident during the Japanese Grand Prix was another tragic occurrence, where the lack of the protection for the driver’s head showed the dark side of a sport that nobody wants to see.
Several proposals to close the cockpits were already made, but despite the latest attempts, no one has yet come up with an idea good enough to ensure we won’t see anymore injuries due to this kind of accidents, and so it will remain one of the dangerous aspects of the sport, and all we can do, is hope that no more tragedies happen in the future. My prayers are with Justin Wilson and his family.
