Closed cockpits for F-1 drivers debated
Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton is giving serious thought to the possibility of closed cockpits following the death of fellow British driver Justin Wilson in IndyCar.
Wilson died 10 days ago after being hit in the helmet by debris from another car. That came a month after F1 driver Jules Bianchi died following nine months in a coma after a massive head injury in a race crash last October.
“It’s a difficult one. From one side I see closed cockpit as potentially the future,” Hamilton said on Thursday at the Italian Grand Prix. “But growing up and watching the sport I grew up watching Ayrton’s (Senna) generation of racing and it’s always been open cockpit. So it’s difficult to change minds, but sometimes change is the way forward.”
Bianchi was the first driver to die of injuries sustained in an F1 race since Senna was killed at the 1994 San Marino GP.
Pirelli investigating tire cuts: Pirelli says that “a highly unusual number of cuts” were reported by the Formula One tire supplier’s engineers at the Belgian Grand Prix, one of which caused the failure on Nico Rosberg’s car.
Pirelli released findings Thursday. While Rosberg’s incident occurred in practice, the right rear tire of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari was torn to shreds at 320 kph (200 mph) in the penultimate lap of the race.
Ferrari used a single pit-stop strategy which added stress on the tires. Pirelli says the remaining tread thickness on Vettel’s rear tires “was approximately 30 percent at the time of the failure, making the tire more susceptible to damage from even small pieces of debris.”
FIA says it is satisfied with Pirelli’s investigation.
Renzi sends message to boss: Italian Premier Matteo Renzi has a message for Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone: “Leave Monza alone.”
Speaking to Italian radio after Ecclestone’s latest warning on the Italian Grand Prix’s future, Renzi says, “That’s what we’re going to tell Ecclestone. Formula One doesn’t rely solely on money. It’s also about the (history).”
No circuit has hosted more Formula One racing than Monza, which was on the inaugural 1950 calendar.
Monza organizers have had trouble producing the estimated 25 million euros ($28 million) per year that Ecclestone seeks to keep the race in place.
Ecclestone said two weeks ago, “We are happy to be at Monza, obviously, but we are not doing cut-price things.”
Renzi can deliver his message in person to Ecclestone when he presents the winner’s trophy after Sunday’s race.