MOTORSPORT: FIA speeds up head protection research

Some form of "roofing" for Formula 1 and IndyCars is only a matter of time – and then it will inevitably filter down to lesser single-seaters.

In the wake of the recent deaths of F1 driver Jules Bianchi and IndyCar veteran Justin Wilson, the world governing body of motorsport, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), is to investigate two new designs next month.

A closed cockpit like that of a fighter jet has already been ruled out.

One of the new potential options is a hoop or "halo" conceived within Mercedes, while the other is a "blade" arrangement.

The big stumbling block is finding a design that still allows a driver to be easily and quickly extricated after a crash, especially in the event of a fire.

FIA technical director Charlie Whiting, who also doubles as the race director at F1 grands prix, said the Paris-based organisation had already worked "bloody hard" on trying to find a way to better protect drivers in single-seater, open-wheeler race cars.

It would persevere and would eventually find a way, Whiting said.

In America a company long involved with IndyCar, Aerodine Composites, is keen to help find a solution.

British driver Wilson, who briefly raced in F1 – including as Mark Webber's Jaguar teammate in late 2003 – and was a 12-year veteran of Indy racing, died early this week just a day after an accident at Pocono raceway in Pennsylvania.

Wilson's helmet was hit by a nose cone flying through the air after race leader Sage Karam crashed.

Frenchman Bianchi died in mid-July, having been on life support since last October after his horrific crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Bianchi's Marussia car speared off the wet Suzuka track and hit a mobile crane about to recover the already-crashed Sauber car of German Adrian Sutil.

Whiting has told Britain's Autosport publication that the FIA has been working strenuously for quite a while to find a way to greatly improve head protection for drivers.

He said the initial designs were like those of a closed cockpit on a fighter jet, but that there had been concerns about the strength of the covers and of drivers remaining trapped in cars.

"We've been working on this for a few years and come up with a number of solutions to test, some more successfully than others," Whiting said.

"We had the fighter jet cockpit approach, but the downsides to that significantly outweighed the upsides.

"We also came up with some fairly ugly looking roll structures in front of the drivers, but they can't drive with it as they can't see through it.

"So it's been really, really hard to come up with something that is going to do it.

"But we have two other solutions on the table, with the first something from Mercedes.

"It doesn't cover the driver – you can still take the driver out, which is one of the most important things, and it's a hoop above the driver's head and forward of it, but with one central stay.

"We are also looking at another device which is blades of varying heights which will be set on top of the chassis and in front of the driver at angles which will render them nearly invisible to him.

"We have put in a huge amount of time, effort and research into this project, which has not been easy – in fact bloody hard.

"But I can definitely see the day when this will happen.

"One day there will be something that will decrease a driver's risk of injury.

"Whether it will be as good at protecting a driver from an object coming towards him as a fighter jet cockpit, I doubt that, but it will offer him protection.

"We have to persevere. We must make something, even if it's not 100 per cent in terms of protecting the driver under all circumstances.

"But if it improves the situation it has to be good.

"There must be a way."

In America the Indianapolis-based Aerodine Composites already makes canopies for 500kmh top fuel dragsters and has been involved in Indy racing for 25 years.

It is an authorised repairer for IndyCar's control chassis built by Italian company Dallara and has indicated it wants to get involved in the development of the next-generation Dallara for the series.

"You'd always rather incorporate a new design like a canopy into a new chassis from the outset, but it's not impossible to come up with something that could be tried on the [existing] DW12 [Dallara cars]," Aerodine president Craig McCarthy said.