In the round-up: Sebastian Vettel says he has no concerns about Formula 1 using a faster track layout for its second race in Bahrain following Romain Grosjean’s crash last weekend.
What they say
Vettel was asked whether he would have preferred to race on the grand prix track again instead of the Outer circuit this weekend:
I don’t think it changes anything in this regard. I don’t think there’s any connection to be made with Romain’s accident last weekend.
It’s good to see, obviously, that we have the red flag and then immediately precautions were taken on that spot. And I think for this week as well around the track there were some more precautions taken. So that’s the least you can do in that short amount of time.
But racing here, I think, doesn’t expose us to anything extra just because the track layout is different.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Leclerc feared Grosjean had died in Bahrain crash (BBC)
"I saw the crash in my mirrors, was aware straight away that it was extremely serious and I thought the worst straight away."
Boschung to replace Aitken at Campos for season finale (Campos)
"The Swiss driver has already been confirmed at Campos for 2021 and has been with the team in Bahrain in preparation for the post-season tests. The 23-year-old has previous experience at this level, driving for the Spanish side in 2017."
African American-led ownership group to compete in Road to Indy (IndyCar)
"the initiative is part of a broader picture in the IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway 'Race for Equality and Change,' announced in July. The goals include recruiting and developing a diverse workforce throughout all levels of IndyCar and IMS, ultimately creating a community that fundamentally transforms the sport."
ACI Rally Monza Shakdown onboard Neuville (WRC via YouTube)
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Comment of the day
Is the tyre barrier at the scene of Grosjean’s crash a sensible addition?
I think this is a must for Armco that is angled in towards the track like the one Grosjean hit. Armco does a good job generally of dissipating energy down the barrier – which is why they are use to line straights with.
There is some concern with formula cars splitting the barrier but again it only split (and not all the way) with a huge direct impact in Grosjean’s crash. Normally with a Armco lined straight its impossible to hit it perpendicular (even if you do your direction of travel is still down the barrier – think those funny-looking spins where the nose gets wiped).
We have seen a large number of Armco strikes down the years but these are all side/along the barrier impacts – thankfully F1 got away with one here but I think all protruding Armco barriers will need this or similar treatment.
Gavin Campbell
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Macca (@macca)
4th December 2020, 1:11
Really cool to see the unseen parts of Monza.
Macca (@macca)
4th December 2020, 1:15
My concern with the tyre barrier in front of the Armco is that if we see an identical crash to the one we did last week (highly unlikely, I know), would the driver then be stuck under the tyres and not be able to get out in the case of a fire the way Grosjean was able to.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
4th December 2020, 2:22
If the same impact was into a properly constructed tire barrier instead of the armco barrier the car would not have split in half and caught fire.
I expected to see tecpro barriers put up.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th December 2020, 8:34
@ryanoceros I agree with you on Tecpro. Perhaps by next year’s Bahrain GP.
drmouse (@drmouse)
4th December 2020, 10:12
This is my thinking, too. A large amount of the impact energy would be absorbed by the tecpro & tyres. This makes a car splitting the armco behind it much less likely, and reduces the amount of energy in the car to rip it in half.
There are no perfect ways to make F1 (or any motorsport) completely safe. However, a tyre barrier there seems a sensible addition.
Hans
4th December 2020, 7:10
Burti Spa 2001. In that case luckely no fire.
frood19 (@frood19)
4th December 2020, 10:57
That was savage accident. did he ever race in F1 again? I think that was one of the incidents that started the trend towards replacing gravel traps with tarmac run offs, he really lost very little speed over the gravel and the impact was horrific. from memory he suffered terrible bruising but no broken bones, which is a miracle really having crashed at Blanchimont in the way he did. the g-forces on his brain and other organs doesn’t really bear thinking about too much!
someone or something
4th December 2020, 13:10
Nope. But he did return as a test driver for Ferrari for a few seasons, back when that actually entailed driving the car.
About the g-forces, I couldn’t find any reliable data, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Grosjean’s impact was harder despite the slower speed. Burti’s deceleration happened over at least 5 metres (tyre barrier at an angle, and the armco wobbled quite a bit instead of being completely rigid). However, in Grosjean’s crash, there was virtually no elasticity going on. He hit the armco, the car split in half, the survival cell got stuck in the heavily deformed barrier. That’s 2, maaaaybe 3 metres.
I used a deceleration calculator with these (very broad) assumptions as well as the estimated impact speeds of 280 vs. 225 kph, and according to that, Grosjean’s deceleration must’ve been at least 10% higher on average.
Napier Railton (@napierrailton)
4th December 2020, 7:53
With the tyre wall there a car could bounce across the track if it hits in a shallow, glancing angle.
I thought they would go for tec-pro to be honest
Bart
4th December 2020, 7:54
The cars will run with a lower downforce setup on this GP, so cornering speeds and acceleration out of the corner will be lower/later; hence there will not be a repeat of the Grosjean incident, at least not at the same speed.
Ninjenius
4th December 2020, 8:57
Why is the barrier angled in the first place? What’s stopping them having that armco completely straight, and just moving barrier on the opposite site of that service road further back to still allow the necessary room for recovery vehicles etc? No point in putting forward the argument of “well we don’t expect these kinds of accidents on the straights” if the barriers themselves don’t run parallel to the tarmac.
Retired (@jeff1s)
4th December 2020, 10:03
There is a service road behind the fence. It always been like that since the beginning.
Ninjenius
4th December 2020, 11:39
@jeff1s I know but I’m just wondering if anything would stop them from simply modifying that part of the service road to allow the front barrier to be straight instead of angled.
Retired (@jeff1s)
4th December 2020, 12:02
I’m sure they can. It’s desert after all, so they surely get enough space.
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
5th December 2020, 3:10
Exactly what I was thinking. Keep the foremost barrier parallel with the track, with rear barrier curving inwards to create the service exit. This would significantly reduce the risk of a perpendicular collision.
Balue (@balue)
4th December 2020, 11:47
Here too. Seems so obvious. Just have the other wall turn inward.
Balue (@balue)
4th December 2020, 11:48
@ Ninjenius point above