Maria de Villotta injured in testing

[morefirejules08]

I wonder what the drivers think about the idea of closed cockpits? surely there opinions should be the only valid ones

[Ted68]

Whatever the cause of the accident, I hope the best for her. Seeing the recoveries of Massa and Kubica, I hope she is able to return to some form of motorsport as it seems to be her passion. I have a friend's son who lost an eye in UFC fighting and has been able to relearn spacial corelation and functions quite well. All the best to her.

[Speedster]

I wonder what the drivers think about the idea of closed cockpits? surely there opinions should be the only valid ones

Well, no. Drivers come and go. The people in charge of the technical side of Formula 1 should decide on things like this in my opinion. Wouldn't closed cockpit hamper situational awareness though? I know lots of racing series have it, but especially in the bends Formula 1 tends to be a bit faster than them.

Also, would a closed cockpit have helped to prevent this accident?

I hope Maria will be ok. Terrible to hear of the loss of her right eye Especially for a racing driver that is a very bad loss, but on the other side, she is still alive, and hopefully she can make a recovery as full as possible.

I've heard loss of an eye can be compensated by training and awareness. Actually, an airline pilot with one functioning eye performed maybe the most miraculous landing in civil aviation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqs_DTPfjXg

[i70q7m7ghw]

When I think of closed cockpits, I just think of Heidfeld last year when his Renault caught fire.

He only just get out before the flames engulfed the cockpit, how much longer would it have taken if there had been a canopy to contend with?

I don't think this accident is a case for closed cockpits, I don't beleive it would have helped.

An F1 car shouldn't have been put in an enviroment where such a hazard was present.


I wish Maria all the best on her recovery. Tragic news about her eye, but lets hope she's able to recover and adapt, and get back to doing what she loves.

[strad]

I have thought about it and ya know...The bottom line is that she drove into a parked vehicle that she knew was there.
I'm sorry she got hurt, man facial disfigurement and a lost eye for an attractive woman is even worse, but, it was driver error. It's really really too bad, but I think it falls into her laps and the stuff happens file.
I'm sorry if that seems cold...I wish her the best and a speedy recovery.

[andartop]

Well it certainly looks like driver error but we'll only know for sure when Marussia conclude their investigation into it. That doesn't really matter now. I cannot even come close to imagine how Maria and her family must be feeling, but I would have thought that if I was in her place canopies and insurance costs would be the last thing on my mind right now. If I were a mod I would lock this thread until there are further news on her condition, as all discussion about what may or may not have happened is just speculation until any official confirmation and all discussion about canopies etc is off topic. The time will come to discuss about all these, but I don't think it's now.

[PlatinumZealot]

Whatever the cause of the accident, I hope the best for her. Seeing the recoveries of Massa and Kubica, I hope she is able to return to some form of motorsport as it seems to be her passion. I have a friend's son who lost an eye in UFC fighting and has been able to relearn spacial corelation and functions quite well. All the best to her.

I feel really sad about her loss. As a kid they said "eyes don't sell at the shop"

To chip in again; whether or not the cause of the car's acceleration I try to avoid that arguement.. but on the operations side I hope FIA makes moves to implement safety barriers around the pit area during test runs.. because I don't know about you guys, but I can be as coward as hell when it comes to driving near certain things.. and I aint racing around no god damn trucks If I was told to. Not even driving on the road. I really try to avoid driving behind trucks. I always have the fear of this same exact thing happening to me... Because it almost happened on the highway when a gas Tanker jackknifed in front of us..

I feel all those things should be kept away from the racing area behind some wall or some barrier.

[myurr]

However, I consider myself an advocate for closed cockpits. I don't see how it degrades F1 racing. I do see how many close calls we've had in recent years, particularly Massa and Schumacher at Abu Dhabi. I do not understand the argument that there should be an element of danger. A closed cockpit does not eliminate the danger from the sport. To think that is ridiculous, to argue against them for that reason is inconceivable to me. If you have a closed cockpit and you crash into the wall in Monaco, YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF. And even if you had a closed cockpit, any normal person will crap their pants the second they sit inside one of those cars and give it so much as 50% throttle. It simply not a valid argument.

I get the close calls and so on, but there are three very real reasons why I dislike the idea of canopies (in order):

1) Fire. Look at the Renault exhaust fires last year where the driver had to pull over and get out the car quickly when the car was erupting in flames around him. A canopy would have made getting out of the car a lot more difficult.
2) Smoke. This incident would have been a lot worse with a canopy and possibly caused a huge crash had Raikkonen not been able to pull over before the cockpit filled with smoke - http://www.f1sa.com/index.php?option=co ... Itemid=219
3) Humans have a built in empathy for other humans when they can see them. This is a large draw for open cockpits and one reason why people feel a real connection to the drivers in F1.
4) Driver extraction - look at Alan McNish's accident at Le Mans last year where they had to roll the car over to get him out even though it was enough on it's side that if it had been an open cockpit car then he would have easily been able to crawl out.

Not having canopies is not the perfect solution, but neither is having canopies.

Edit: n smikle - again this was an airfield test, there were no pits. There were marquees and other temporary structures but mostly just a collection of people and equipment by the side of a runway. Other than that number of straight line tests and kilometers that the teams can run these are unregulated tests that aren't (as far as I'm aware) overseen by the FIA.

[mx_tifoso]

Please direct all comments related to a canopy/cockpit protection here:
Alternative to Canopies/Windscreens/Front Roll Hoops

Let us dedicate this thread to Maria and her well being from now on, as it should have been from the start. All posts off topic will be moved out as deemed fit.

[andartop]

Let us dedicate this thread to Maria and her well being from now on, as it should have been from the start.

http://www.marussiaf1team.com/news/600/maria-madrilena

[ArchAngel]

D@mn... Very sad news, indeed. Didn't really bother going over the 'safety' arguments anymore after having read that she lost her eye. My thoughts are with Maria and her family.

[GrizzleBoy]

Couldn't believe it when I heard about the injuries!

When I heard she had crashed I was fine.

When I heard she was in critical condition but stable, I was okay.

But when I found out she lost her right eye, I literally couldn't believe it.

Driver error or not, its a horrific thing to happen to a person, especially a person looking to make a career in a sport of almost any kind, let alone F1.

Hope she can recover.

[mx_tifoso]

If you use twitter, show your support!

https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23TodosConMar%C3%ADa

[ESPImperium]

Overhead of the setup that Marussia was using this week:



And Duxford from above on Google Maps:



And her Steering Wheel:



And the UKs Health & Safety Executive are looking at since the accedent will have now gone to RIDDOR status:

People
* Are people trained and competetant in their role = provide proof of competancy and currency
* Did all people perform their role in accordance with a set procedure = Provide evidence to support this

Equipment
* Was all equipment used as per operating procedures.
* Was all equipment inspected prior to use and what if any is the inspection regime.
* Was there any equipment shortfalls when aligned against any procedure for the work conducted.

Environment
* Was there a layout to follow when placing equipment in the ares, when was the last review.
* Weather conditions
* Surface conditions
* Lighting conditions
* Enviromental restraints and constraints

Procedure
* What were the procedure for the days activities, is it written down, are there checklists.
* Does the scope of work cover work site set up
* Is there a specific risk analysis completed
* do the procedures clearly indicate persons responsible for certain actions on the day

Organisation
* Who had what role and what were their tasks within any procedure
* Is there a check list or method of monitoring the procedure and who is responsible for that to occur.
* Was there any organisation resources not made available.

[munudeges]

I cannot understand this accident and can't see it being anything other than driver error, a total foul-up on the team's part or both.

I guess this might be a consequence of allowing tin-pot outfits like Marussia into Formula 1 who have to pull publicity stunts with drivers.