F1 Criticizes and Advises IndyCar After Wheldon’s Death

« Before everyone jumps on Indycar, we must remember Dan, and then action must be taken », assured AJ Almendinger after announcing the death of the British driver during the season-closing round of Indycar at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After rallying to pay tribute to Dan Wheldon, the world of Formula One is mobilizing once again, as it feels the time for action has come.

On BBC Radio 5 Live, Nigel Mansell, who had his moment of glory across the Atlantic, naturally returned to the accident: « In Indycar, there is simply nowhere to go. When an accident happens, you’re in the wall in less than half a second. Having 34 cars racing on a two-and-a-half-kilometer oval at 350 km/h is too much. The problem is that there are no small accidents when they occur. That’s why Formula One does an exemplary job: the tarmac runoff areas allow the driver to decelerate. »

On his side, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Bernie Ecclestone insists that he would never have given the green light to this race: « We would never have let this race take place last week in Las Vegas. With 34 cars racing on a 2.5-kilometer oval, they were heading straight for disaster. [With the 5 million dollar bonus awarded in case of Wheldon’s victory], it was all or nothing, with the risk that involves. Although our thoughts are with Dan’s family, this whole episode hasn’t been good for motorsport in general. »

The 1992 world champion and Bernie Ecclestone believe that Indycar should take inspiration from Formula One, an opinion shared by Mark Webber in his column published on the BBC website: « I’ve never raced on an oval, but I’ve talked to guys who have. One of the things they don’t like is pack racing, especially on a small oval like the one in Las Vegas. Racing three wide on a track like that is not really racing. It’s a slipstream race: drivers switch lanes and anything can happen. At certain speeds, it can go without serious injuries, but when you’re at 350 km/h in a single-seater, the cars can fly up to 5 or 6 meters off the ground, and someone can be seriously injured. […] The drivers think it needs to be reconsidered. In the incident that killed Dan, nearly half the field was in a pack, and half of them ended up airborne: it’s not fair. »

And the Australian recalled his experience in the matter, having been the victim of some of the most spectacular accidents, whether in Endurance with Mercedes at Le Mans in 1999, or more recently in Valencia in 2010, when his Red Bull collided with Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus before taking off and landing upside down on the track: “Safety has had to make a long journey in F1 and, whatever happens, it’s different from IndyCar. Understand me well, I know there are risks: Valencia could have ended very differently for me, that’s absolutely clear, but I feel safer than in IndyCar, or in rally or MotoGP. We know that, generally, everything will go well, even when we crash. We simply get back into the car and go at it again, but I think that, for the moment, it’s a whole different issue for those racing in America.”

Key craftsman in the fight for more safety in Formula One, Jackie Stewart believes, like most observers, that the number of cars lined up during the Las Vegas race played a role, but he thinks it is not the only problem: « Do we really need to drive at more than 350 km/h? It’s not necessary. If all cars drove at the same speed, if we reduced it by 50 to 60 km/h, frankly, no one would notice. »

Tomas Scheckter, who was participating in the Las Vegas race, seemed to agree with Jackie Stewart on this point: « I love racing on ovals, but an accident like the one in Las Vegas was inevitable. […] If two cars have an accident, you need to be able to brake, slow down, and see what’s happening. »

The South African driver, who only participated in 3 races this season, was encouraged by his father, Jody, to learn the lessons once and for all: « It’s the most dangerous form of motor racing at the moment. I think what they have put in place to make it more spectacular makes it very, very dangerous on circuits like that [even though] other circuits aren’t so bad. […] I’ve wanted him to stop for a long time. Hopefully, it will make sense to him and he’ll realize that there is more to life: it’s really not worth it »

And yet, many drivers remind us that they are fully aware of the risks involved in motorsport, regardless of the level of safety achieved: « I think we have learned a lot from the past » says Sebastian Vettel. « We’ve improved the safety of cars on the tracks. It makes our lives safer in many ways, but there are always some risks we cannot avoid and are willing to accept. We love racing, we love motorsport, and it’s dangerous. »

Hence the necessity, according to Jackie Stewart, to continue the fight: I don’t think we can ever be satisfied with safety. There are always improvements to be made.

For Max Mosley, Indycar today faces the same challenges that F1 faced in the aftermath of Roland Ratzenberger’s and Ayrton Senna’s deaths: « It’s very troublesome, but it’s hard to get people to think seriously about safety unless there’s an accident. We conduct research all the time, but you get more support when there’s a serious accident. That said, one must remember that when you look at the images of the crash, it’s actually quite remarkable that there weren’t more victims. So that says a lot about the work that has already been accomplished. »