Pit lane reporting a thing of the past?

[dj_bytedisaster]

I never quite understand this attitude, Senna's accident was a one off?

Well that was just a freak weekend. First there was Rubens's horrific shunt, then Ratzenbergers death, Senna the next day and Alboreto's wheel going flying and hitting a mechanic. After such a weekend some kneejerk reactions were understandable.

[SGWilko]

Helmetcam ?
[youtube]uCy8Xtp2P20[/youtube]

He really needed the helmet cam when using the chainsaw to renovate his hotel rooms......

[tjoepie]

So if a tyre comes loose and ends up in the crowd and kills people (which has happened in the past, sadly), are they going to ban crowds?

[truefan72]

a complete overreaction
so what happens when a loose wheel bounces into the stands?
no more fans allowed?

or if debris somehow got a media photographer in one of those premium on track spots,
no more media outside of the fan zones?

after the fire in the williams pit, i did not see them ban family and friends from being in the garage

this is a stupid and unnecessary overreaction to a freak incident
which will only serve to diminish the value and perception of the sport

F1 is no more dangerous than any other series and if they can have pit area media then so should F1
I can see a bunch of media outlets pulling out of F1 because the ridiculous broadcast fees where somewhat justified by the access that was provided etc.

[schmenke]

I never quite understand this attitude, Senna's accident was a one off?

Pretty much, yes.
Senna’s unfortunate accident was the result of broken steering in his car, but the FIA reacted by reconfiguring the section of the circuit where he was killed (not to mention many other circuits) .

Sorry, off topic...

[schmenke]

Take any routine job around the home, try to do it in a fraction of the time you would conscientiously do it, and see how well you complete said task.. More haste, less speed.......

Fair enough, but crews rehearse pit stops to the point where they can pretty much do them blindfolded. A tire swap is routine for them.

My point is that the FIA, once again, is not resolving the root of this accident. They should be reviewing the teams’ pit stop procedures and protocol to determine if anything needs changing to make them safer. Simply banning unnecessary personnel from the pit lane is not solving the issue of potentially unsafe pit stops.

[SGWilko]

No, but what they have done, to mitigate that very threat, is have high fencing in place to protect said crowd. They have even been nice enough to use fencing one can see through.....

[SGWilko]

Fair enough, but crews rehearse pit stops to the point where they can pretty much do them blindfolded. A tire swap is routine for them.

Except they practice when it is not in a high pressure win/lose situation - and that is the very situation when humans make silly mistakes - like lifting lollipops even when they see a car approaching for example......

[SGWilko]

unnecessary personnel

.....don't need to be there - no big loss.

[The Black Knight]

I see this whole thing as been completely blown out of proportion. A wheel came loose, it doesn't happen that often. It could have just as easily hit a mechanic. If that were the case would they now be banned from the pit-lane?

I understand not wanting anyone to get hurt but they know the risks when they enter the pit-lane.

The main issue I see is that teams not being careful enough when frantically trying to release their car and I can see this happening again regardless of whether a reporter is in the pitlane or not.

How about setting a minimum pit stop time of say 5 seconds? If there's a problem that's enough time for everyone to know by then. That might help.

Alternatively, bring back refueling. I know a lot of people weren't fans of it but personally every time I watch the start of a race it's like watching a bunch of trucks go around the track. They are too slow now and it's really only the second half of the race they come alive again. Would make for more interesting strategy as well. I'm not a fan of the tire "strategies" currently in F1. I think Schumacher would have won a race as well on his comeback were refueling still in F1.