Fireplace was an excessive hazard within the first few a long time of Formulation 1, and drivers have been often trapped within the burning wreckage of their automobile. Fireplace safety has thus been a key focus in security, and the race fits have modified through the years to offer drivers a greater likelihood at survival.
Sir Jackie Stewart was instrumental in pushing for extra security measures in F1 after racing in a number of the sequence’ most harmful years. The three-time world champion’s marketing campaign helped introduce a number of security options, together with full-face helmets and seatbelts for the drivers, in addition to serving to to develop a specialised medical unit which attend every race, security boundaries and better run-off areas.
Jackie Stewart, Tyrrell 003 Ford
Picture by: Motorsport Photos
Drivers must be comfy of their race fits and never constrained by heavy and inflexible materials, in addition to guaranteeing it offers final safety in a possible accident. The go well with additionally must maintain the motive force at a cushty temperature, ensuring that they don’t get too sizzling too shortly, as this could have an effect on their efficiency.
Every driver is required to put on a race go well with, underwear, gloves, boots and a helmet, which hasn’t modified a lot for the reason that Sixties. Nonetheless, driver clothes is now much more technologically superior and offers drivers with the next stage of security.
The FIA is answerable for implementing security measures and often evaluate the rules surrounding driver clothes. Each 8860 (helmets) and 8856 (clothes) rules have been reviewed and up to date the final couple of years and have been authorised once more for 2024.
Components of F1 drivers’ racewear
Race go well with
A race go well with – in any other case referred to as overalls – is primarily answerable for providing hearth safety to the drivers whereas additionally remaining light-weight and cozy. Overalls have been made obligatory by the FIA in 1963, and by 1975 they wanted to fulfill particular fire-resistant requirements.
The FIA have a set of rules for all driver clothes – referred to as 8856-2018 – which specifies that the go well with ought to be multi function piece and have shoulder handles, in case a driver must be extracted from their automobile.
Every race go well with additionally options an expiry date embroidered into the neck to make sure they provide most safety to a driver. The date was as soon as printed within the overalls, however this might be worn or burnt away so a extra fire-resistant choice was launched.
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Group
Picture by: Erik Junius
The know-how of overalls has come a good distance for the reason that early Sixties and now every race go well with is fabricated from a light-weight and breathable materials that’s coated with fire-resistant Nomex – a flame-resistant fibre. They’re all examined to guarantee that they’ll stand up to warmth as much as 600-800 levels for over 11 seconds, which additionally applies to the fits’ zips and stretch panels to ensure drivers are shielded from hearth.
Every set of overalls comes with close-fitting wrists and ankles, in addition to a excessive collar and a flap masking the complete zip, to maintain flames away from the motive force. A race go well with is tailored to every driver, with most preferring one thing shut becoming, nevertheless, drivers like Jacques Villeneuve most well-liked a baggier go well with as a result of he discovered it extra comfy.
The go well with options stretch panels or an extended again to make sure the motive force is comfy when sat in a automobile, with the entrance normally shorter to stop it pulling when beneath a seat belt. The overalls are additionally fabricated from a lighter materials to assist the drivers transfer simply, in addition to being breathable to permit physique warmth and extra sweat to flee, making a driver much less vulnerable to warmth exhaustion.
A go well with now weighs round 750g which is a stark distinction from the older fits which used to weigh round 2kg. Overalls are not embroidered with patches to assist with the burden and motion, with sponsors now printed on the fire-resistant outer layer.
Helmet
A helmet is likely one of the most essential security measures in Formulation 1 and was made obligatory in 1952. There have been continuous updates to helmet know-how together with to the powerful outer shell and the updates to the influence absorbent insides.
Within the early days of the championship drivers solely wore material caps and goggles, which did little to guard drivers, earlier than cork helmets have been then launched. Helmets have come a good distance, with the invention of Nomex, the addition of visors and finally full-face helmets to extend the safety of a driver.
Helmets encompass a carbon fibre outer shell with a foam liner and fireproof lining, that are stringently examined towards influence resistance and hearth, to make sure they supply most safety to drivers. The FIA regulates helmet security beneath the 8860-2018 guidelines which have additionally impacted different race classes that are managed by the governing physique.
Helmet of Lando Norris, McLaren
Picture by: Lando Norris
A key security change made to the 2018 rules was variations to the eye-port dimension and visor overlap. The brand new helmet modifications got here into pressure following an accident with Felipe Massa in 2009, when a spring got here free from the again of Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn automobile and hit the entrance of the Ferrari driver’s helmet. Though the helmet took a lot of the influence, Massa was knocked unconscious and wanted surgical procedure to suit a steel plate into his cranium.
The FIA then launched a Zylon strip to assist reinforce the overlap between the visor and helmet, adopted by new guidelines to make the visor opening smaller and reinforce the realm across the eye-port.
Helmets beforehand featured a tube going into the helmet throughout the Seventies and 80s that was hooked up to a medicated gasoline provide, to assist a driver breath in the event that they have been trapped in a fireplace. With modifications being made to security, these tubes have been not fitted into the automobile or have been required as a part of the rules.
Gloves
Gloves present some key security options, together with hearth safety and biometric capabilities. Every glove is comprised of the fire-resistant Nomex materials and offers drivers with tactile suggestions from the silicone grips on the steering wheel.
Biometric gloves have been first launched in 2018, concurrently the Halo function on the automobile. The protection function screens the motive force’s situation following a crash. Every glove is fitted with a 3mm thick sensor which transmits knowledge on a driver’s pulse and blood oxygen ranges again to their groups.
The biometric knowledge additionally offers the medical workforce details about the motive force’s situation if they should shortly extract them from the automobile following an accident. For instance, the restoration workforce would possibly select to bypass some restoration procedures to get a driver free extra shortly to have the ability to stabilise their respiratory or coronary heart charge.
Gloves with elevated hearth safety have been launched in 2021 following Romain Grosjean’s crash on the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. The Haas driver went by way of the barrier and ended up spending 29 seconds inside a fireball earlier than managing to flee with extreme burns to his arms however was largely unscathed, due to the protection gadgets on his automobile and go well with.
Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Group Kick Sauber, places on his crash helmet and gloves forward of FP1
Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Photos
Following the accident, the FIA started taking a look at methods to enhance security and commenced trialling gloves that will give extra hearth safety in the same incident. Improved gloves have been trialled on the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix, which allowed an additional 1.5 seconds of fireplace resistance.
Boots
Boots should additionally supply a level of fireplace security, nevertheless, that is considerably compromised to make sure that the drivers have as a lot suggestions from the pedals as potential. In more moderen years, the boots have grow to be extra of a sock model with a skinny rubber sole, as a substitute of the older leather-based or suede model.
The boots of Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Group
Picture by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Photos
The boots have a flat sole to maximise really feel by way of the pedals and, in moist situations, you’ll usually see drivers having the soles of their sneakers dried earlier than moving into the automobile to maximise grip.
Underwear
Beneath the race go well with, a driver will probably be carrying a fireproof underwear layer which should even be compliant to the FIA rules and is fabricated from Nomex. They’re now fabricated from a breathable, moisture-wicking materials, to maintain drivers comfy in excessive warmth.
Every underwear layer consists of an extended sleeve high, bottoms – which look just like lengthy johns – and socks, which overlap one another so as to add an extra layer of fireplace safety. Drivers can even put on a balaclava over their head, which provides safety to elements of their faces that may be uncovered by their helmets.
Romain Grosjean, Haas F1 Group, places on his balaclava within the workforce’s storage
Picture by: Andrew Hone / Motorsport Photos
Beforehand drivers opted to put on a balaclava with two eye holes however in more moderen years for security, however now a single eye gap is extra most well-liked. The added layer of safety will usually cowl their noses and mouths, with a gap stitched into every balaclava for a consuming tube which permits a driver to remain hydrated throughout a race.
HANS
The Head and Neck Assist (HANS) gadget was made obligatory in 2003 and is the ultimate ingredient of a driver’s race gear. The gadget limits the motion of a driver’s head and neck contained in the automobile to assist stop damage in the event that they crash.
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari helmet and HANS gadget
Picture by: Sutton Photos
The HANS connects to the helmet and is secured by the seatbelts, which helps anchor it onto the carbon fibre collar, which prevents hyperextending – which is the main reason for demise in racing and is the results of a basal cranium fracture. Roland Ratzenberger suffered a deadly cranium fracture at Imola in 1994, which was a consequence of simply carrying a security harness with an unrestrained head.
With no HANS gadget, the harness pulled shoulders again, forcing a driver’s neck to be stretched. This is able to create rigidity between the cranium, neck and shoulders with accidents exacerbated by the helmet, which provides further weight to the pinnacle.
These days if a driver is in a frontal collision, then the HANS gadget will cut back the ahead movement of a driver’s head and cut back the pressure on their neck, utterly eliminating the chance of hyperextending.
