Nikolas Tombazis, FIA single-seater director, reiterated his desire to prioritize total safety in F1, including with future regulations. According to him, zero risk will never exist, but it is essential to want to get close to it.
“Safety is one of the key principles” says Tombazis. “Motor sport is always dangerous by nature, when cars are going at 300 km/h, it’s never completely safe, but we do a decent job, it’s quite safe, but we can’t rely on our laurels and go further.”
Tombazis also reminds us that the past was much more dangerous, and that memories are often too positive: “There may have been a romantic vision of the past, where these guys running were sort of gladiators or something. But that’s in the past.”
“We don’t need that. We need to be as safe as possible. Every accident is thoroughly examined: the path the car followed during the accident, the reason for the accident – it There are usually many factors.”
“All this allows you to learn how to improve the cars, the track, the procedures… Everything is analyzed down to the smallest detail by the safety department. There are always progressive changes.”
This is why the FIA continues to improve safety, and will continue for the 2026 F1: “The nose of the car will be able to absorb a large amount of longitudinal energy while being constructed in such a way that, if it hits the wall laterally, only part will break and another part will remain for the ‘next impact.’
The Halo saves lives… but not only him
One of the big breakthroughs was the Halo, which saved Romain Grosjean’s life in Bahrain in 2020. Tombazis admits that Formula 1 was lucky that the French driver was not seriously injured that day.
“The engine separated from the frame, which in itself is no big deal, but in separating it tore up the frame and left the fuel tank exposed, causing fuel to leak out and cause a fireball. We were very lucky that the pilot was conscious and was able to get out.”
But Grosjean’s crash was a great help in understanding the faults of the single-seaters, and reinforcing them for the following single-seaters: “Each car is equipped with an electronic box that records numerous signals.”
“It records all of the car’s G-forces, allowing calculation of where the car was going when it lost control, how fast it decelerated, how hard it hit the barrier and how it has stopped. This data is also analyzed.
“Among the subsequent analyzes we did, we worked on how the engine was detaching from the chassis and we applied additional rules to ensure that when the engine detaches, the points of failure are the bolts connecting the engine to the chassis and not the chassis itself.”
“So if things go according to plan in similar circumstances, the engine may come off, but the chassis remains intact, as does the fuel tank. So that’s one of the consequences of this accident.”
For its part, the Halo protected Grosjean by crossing the rail, and that’s what it was designed to do: “It can handle a number of double-decker buses without breaking. Given the speed we’re traveling at, it can deflect an awful lot.”
“We saw it with Lewis and Max, when Max’s car ended up on Lewis. If the Halo hadn’t been there, it would have landed on Lewis’ head – you never want to know what the consequences would have been if we hadn’t had the Halo.”
AI to the rescue of pilots in the future?
Tombazis wants predictive systems to work harder to improve car safety. He hopes that artificial intelligence can play a crucial role in the future.
“We believe the best safety improvements over the next ten years will be more about active safety: how to prevent accidents in the first place, rather than worrying about what happens after impact.”
“It’s not about doing in-depth studies, but maybe looking at how we automatically warn other drivers, or slow down cars as they approach an accident scene – we think that these kinds of things will be fundamental.”
“A lot of developments in the road industry, a lot of safety improvements, have to do with, say, communication between cars – so there’s a lot of elements at play.”
“AI will be a key part of active safety – how we interpret events taking place during a race, or at the start of an accident, or how we react quickly, will involve AI aspects. “
Related News :