Former Minardi F1 team owner, Gian Carlo Minardi said in an interview that he thinks the 2014 turbo hybrid F1 cars are dangerous, but no one seems to care.
After the first winter test session at Jerez, Minardi focussed on the dangers of the noses if the new cars, especially in the case of a side collision or, even worse, in case of rear-end impact.
“What about Formula 1 safety today? Today, I heard people talking about new turbo engines and reliability, but only Adrian Newey talked about safety,” Minardi said in a press release posted on minardi.it.
“What I’d like to understand is whether everything is under control and I’d like to hear that from FIA. Formula 1 introduced many major changes, which can turn to be dangerous. It’s the case of the new batteries which, if they overheat, can set off unexpected blazes”, said Minardi.
The former team owner added that he is not convinced that the track workers are sufficiently trained to deal with a turbo hybrid car that has stopped. Each car sports a set of colored lights to tell the workers if it safe to touch it.
“Do they know exactly what to do? Do they know what kind of LED light allows them to touch the car?” Minardi questioned.
“Not to mention also shipping problems. In the past, batteries, which were smaller and technologically less advanced, were shipped inside bespoke boxes. Now they have to be put inside special boxes both in the case of air way and roadway shipping”, he concluded, adding that this goes against the costs limitation.
After the first winter test session at Jerez, Minardi focussed on the dangers of the noses if the new cars, especially in the case of a side collision or, even worse, in case of rear-end impact.
“What about Formula 1 safety today? Today, I heard people talking about new turbo engines and reliability, but only Adrian Newey talked about safety,” Minardi said in a press release posted on minardi.it.
“What I’d like to understand is whether everything is under control and I’d like to hear that from FIA. Formula 1 introduced many major changes, which can turn to be dangerous. It’s the case of the new batteries which, if they overheat, can set off unexpected blazes”, said Minardi.
The former team owner added that he is not convinced that the track workers are sufficiently trained to deal with a turbo hybrid car that has stopped. Each car sports a set of colored lights to tell the workers if it safe to touch it.
“Do they know exactly what to do? Do they know what kind of LED light allows them to touch the car?” Minardi questioned.
“Not to mention also shipping problems. In the past, batteries, which were smaller and technologically less advanced, were shipped inside bespoke boxes. Now they have to be put inside special boxes both in the case of air way and roadway shipping”, he concluded, adding that this goes against the costs limitation.