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F1 figures have admitted they are not keen on proposals to put a roof above the heads of the sport’s drivers.
After the incidents involving Felipe Massa and the late Henry Surtees in 2009, technical chiefs started looking into the possibility of jet fighter-style canopies or polycarbonate screens for the cars’ cockpits.
The FIA has released a video (http://vimeo.com/26098946) showing a F1 wheel being fired at 225kph at a jet-fighter canopy and a proposed cockpit screen.
“Full scientific results of the firings … have now been presented to the formula one technical working group,” the video revealed.
1992 world champion and occasional F1 steward Nigel Mansell admitted: “I don’t know if I’d like to see that. It wouldn’t really be formula one,” he is quoted by ennstal-classic.at.
Another former driver Marc Surer agrees: “It would be very warm in there, and then the next problem is needing an air conditioner. And imagine if KERS fails and the vapours get into the cockpit.”
Christian Danner said: “The visibility of the drivers will be affected by the reflection.”
Mercedes’ Norbert Haug told Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “We are always interested in the advancement of safety. It’s an interesting experiment but I feel that a single seater cockpit needs to be open.”
Nico Rosberg added: “It sounds good. Anything that increases safety is a step forward.”
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