Safety in Formula 1: Medical (Part Eight)

Safety has not always been a paramount concern in Formula One, although there had been many tragedies, both for drivers and spectators. This article will focus on the ‘Medical’ facilities at Formula One Grand Prix. In the last few decades, however, accidents happen and there are medical facilities at every circuit in order to try and control any situation which may occur as a result of an accident. 

The Medical Car lines up before the start of the Grand Prix.

According to F1.com, “As late as the early 1980s, medical facilities at many Grand Prix events were shockingly poor by modern standards. It has now become one of the top priorities at every race. The serious nature of some motor racing injuries means that speed of medical response is absolutely vital to saving lives.”  

Around the circuit, there are several mobile response teams strategically placed which include four salvage cars (S-cars) and two rescue cars (R-cars) as well as two extrication teams. The four S-cars are equipped with a rescue cutter and fire extinguishing equipment whereas the R-cars are manned by a doctor, four paramedics and a driver which can reach any point on the circuit within 30 seconds.

Did You Know...that the safety of the spectators at Formula One races is controlled by approximately 150 security officials, in addition to approximately 130 medics and doctors?

The FIA's chief medical delegate, currently Doctor Ian Roberts, will be on stand-by in the medical car at the end of the pit lane. He can be quickly driven to the scene of any major injury. When Dr Roberts arrives at the accident scene he can gauge the severity of the accident immediately by looking at the warning light system located on the top of cockpit. 

The Medical Car will follow the drivers around the circuit on the first lap, as it is considered as the most dangerous and crash-prone corners of the entire race and it will pull into the pitlane at the end of the first lap.

If a driver requires immediate assistance, he or she will be taken the circuit’s medical centre. It is staffed 24 hours a day during a race weekend and is equally equipped with the latest medical devices, including full resuscitation equipment and its own operating theatre, with orthopadedic surgeons, an anaesthetist and six paramedics. Drivers will often be sent to the medical centre for checks as a precaution regardless of whether they’ve emerged unscathed. It is up to the FIA to clear a driver to race and to ensure if he is physically fit to do so. Several drivers have had to sit out the rest of a Grand Prix weekend if they crash early on, and are even forced to sit out of the next race if they are deemed unfit due to a bad accident. 

Did You Know...that two ambulances and a helicopter manned by a doctor, two paramedics and a pilot stand by throughout the race. A second helicopter is kept ready outside the circuit and four additional ambulances are posted along the race track.

Felipe Massa being airlifted to hospital following an accident at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.

Local hospitals will also be on stand-by during the course of a race weekend so that very serious injuries can be transferred. A MedEvac helicopter manned by a doctor, two paramedics and a pilot is ready to fly at all times, a second helicopter is kept ready outside the circuit and four additional ambulances are posted around the race track. If conditions are such that a helicopter could not take off from the circuit or land at the hospital, due to fog for example, then the race cannot go ahead. Normally, this is a weather issue, fog or rain, and we saw this happen during Free Practice 1 at Circuit of the Americas in 2013. Cars were sent out at the start of the session but were told to return with ‘Red Flags’ due to the late arrival of the MedEvac helicopter.

Therefore, once can establish that Formula One racing is vastly safer than it used to be, and medical provision is a great deal better. That’s it for this article; I hope that you’ve enjoyed it!

[PART 5] The Italian Grand Prix - Did You Know (FACTS)

[PART 4] The Italian Grand Prix - Did You Know (FACTS)

[PART 3] The Italian Grand Prix - Did You Know (FACTS)

[PART 2] The Italian Grand Prix - Did You Know (FACTS)

[PART 1] The Italian Grand Prix - Did You Know (FACTS)

TRACK PROFILE - FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA 2014

On This Day in Formula One - 29 August

                                                                           1947

The 1976 World Champion James Hunt.

1976 world champion James Hunt was born in Belmont, Surrey. A young aristocrat with a devil-may-care attitude, Hunt got his Formula One break in 1973 thanks to funding from Lord Hesketh. Hunt moved to McLaren after Emerson Fittipaldi quit to join his family team and he scored six wins and took the title amid a downpour in the final race, in Japan, when friend and rival Niki Lauda pulled into the pits and said that it was too dangerous to race. Hunt stayed out and clinched the third place he needed to lift the crown.

1976

En route to winning the title, Hunt won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Two weeks after Niki Lauda came off the critical list following his horrific accident at the Nurburgring, Hunt trailed Ronnie Peterson and John Watson in the early stages of the race before both men dropped back, leaving Hunt to claim victory from Clay Regazzoni and Mario Andretti and close the gap between himself and Lauda to just 14 points.

1982

Keke Rosberg won the 1982 world championship with Williams despite winning just one race all season at the Swiss Grand Prix. The race was held in Dijon, France with motor racing still banned in Switzerland following the 1955 Le Mans disaster. Rosberg started eighth on the grid and overtook Alain Prost late on to secure victory.

1999

David Coulthard won the Belgian Grand Prix after clashing with team-mate Mika Hakkinen into the first corner. Hakkinen had qualified on pole but was slower off the line, allowing Coulthard to pull alongside. The pair then touched into the first corner as Coulthard muscled his way past on the inside. Hakkinen's second place allowed him to overtake Eddie Irvine by a single point at the top of the drivers' standings.

2004

Kimi Raikkonen took McLaren's first victory of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix but it was not enough to stop Michael Schumacher from securing his seventh drivers' title as he finished second ahead of Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

[INFORMATION BY - ESPNF1.com]

'No more Mr Nice Guy' - By Jake Davis

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                                                                                                                     E-mail - davisjake@hotmail.co.uk
                                                                                                                     Twitter - @JakeDDCreative

On This Day in Formula One - 26 August

                                                                  1979

Gilles Villeneuve continues on with a puncture on the rear of his Ferrari.

Gilles Villeneuve cemented his cult-hero status at the Dutch Grand Prix when he refused to retire with a puncture, and instead drove a lap of the circuit on three wheels with sparks flying from the rear of his Ferrari. Villeneuve had been leading the race after a brave move on Alan Jones at Tarzan corner and looked set for victory until a spin on lap 47 dropped him to second. Villeneuve rejoined but two laps later he spun again, this time the rear-left tyre exploded and left the Ferrari strewn across the middle of the track. However, he didn't give up and raced back to the pits on three wheels, pulling wheelies along the way and making good time. When he returned to the pits, however, the suspension was too badly damaged to carry on and he was forced to retire. Jones went on to win the race ahead of Villeneuve's team-mate Jody Scheckter.

1984

Alain Prost won the Dutch Grand Prix to close within half a point of championship leader Niki Lauda. Nelson Piquet had taken an early lead but falling oil pressure forced him to retire early on, handing the lead to Prost. Meanwhile, Lauda picked his way through the field from sixth on the grid to finish 10 seconds off the pace of his McLaren team-mate. Lauda managed to maintain his half point lead for the remaining three races to take his third title.

1990

After three attempts the Belgian Grand Prix finally got underway with Ayrton Senna leading from lights to flag. At the first attempt Aguri Suzuki's Larousse started a chain reaction crash into the first corner that, via Nelson Piquet, shunted Nigel Mansell into the barrier. As everyone tried to avoid the accident the two Lotuses collided and then further around the first lap Satoru Nakajima parked his Tyrrell on a kerb. The red flags came out and the grid reformed. At the second start Paolo Barilla had a huge accident at Eau Rouge, leaving bits of his Minardi scattered across the track. Again the race director put out the red flag. Finally on the third attempt everybody got away without incident and Senna, as he had on the previous two occasions, sped off into the lead. His closest competitor was the Ferrari of Alain Prost who finished 3.5 seconds behind.

1996

One of the most iconic F1 sponsorship deals came to an end when the Philip Morris tobacco company announced it would not renew its sponsorship of McLaren in 1997. Philip Morris' European president said: "During our 23 years of sponsorship, the Marlboro McLaren team has had unprecedented success, winning nine drivers' world championships, seven wolrd constructors' championships and 96 grands prix. We are very proud of that record."

                                                                                            2007

Lewis Hamilton suffers with a puncture at the 2007 Turkish Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton's title bid took the first of two major blows as a result of a tyre failure. He had been running in a comfortable third position at the Turkish Grand Prix, ahead of title rival and McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, when his front left tyre failed at high speed. He dropped back to fifth, missing out on two points - the exact same margin he lost the championship by to Kimi Raikkonen. His second tyre failure, which stopped him taking the title on that day, came at the Chinese Grand Prix when he ran wide on the pit lane entrance with a balding intermediate. Felipe Massa went on to win the Turkish Grand Prix, ahead of Raikkonen and Alonso.

[INFORMATION BY - ESPNF1.com]