FIA might mandate the plexiglass windscreens in 2011
After having announced a lot many new things in Formula One for the 2010 season, now there are reports that FIA is also going to mandate the plexiglass windscreens for the car’s cockpit to further ensure the safety of the drivers.
Auto racing is widely believed to be the most hazardous sport of the world. Any man who takes a car on the track already knows that his is getting one step closer to death or at least to an injury. However, over the years Formula One has become the least vulnerable of all the racing series, yet the chances could never be completely ended. Before entering every new season many modifications are done under FIA rules, which are aimed to both incrase thrill and action in the sport or to minimise any kind of risks the sport offers. Although many changes have already been announced for the 2011 season, there are further reports that a new windscreen will also be introduced very soon.
The proposal of a wind shield is lately on FIA tables as the 2009 season saw two very serious accidents which could have been prevented had there been a screen. At the German Grand Prix, Felipe Massa of Ferrari narrowly escaped a fatal accident when a flying suspension spring struck his helmet and left him in coma for a long time, only a few days after the death of the F2 driver, Henry Surtees on the track.
While talking to the reports only days after his recovery from head injury, Massa said, "I'm not saying we need to cover (the cockpit) completely. But maybe there are some other things we can do to the car to stop a wheel hitting your head."
Last year, after these unfortunate incidents, the Formula One supremo, Bernie Ecclestone announced that the president of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety, Professor Sid Watkins has been asked to come up with preventive measurements to "deal with" these issues.
This year also a very terrifying accident was seen at the last round of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi's car landed at the top of Michael Schumacher's Mercedes. The 42-year-old ducked down to guard his head from a serious injury, but many believe that all the drives might not be able to show such quick reflexes all the time.
Still, any minute change in the Formula One car can disturb its aerodynamics and weight distribution unbelievably, so it might still take some more time to hear the final FIA decision.
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