Stewart and Webber on the security front

Sir Jackie Stewart has always worked for safety on the circuits. His fight was highlighted by his own accident at Spa in 1966 and the death of his friend and teammate, François Cevert, at Watkins Glen in 1973.

The recent tragedies on the tracks of Las Vegas and Sepang have only amplified his fight against insecurity: «I think the two weeks since this accident [Dan Wheldon in Las Vegas] allow us to reflect with a clear mind.

The situation of wheel entanglement is the biggest problem, so a solution must be found to prevent the wheels from overlapping with each other, that’s where the problem lies. There are measures taken in karting for the most inexperienced drivers. And to be honest with you, we’ve seen a lot more collisions of this kind in the last two years in Formula 1 than ever before. And I’m not just talking about Mark Webber’s accident in Valencia, but there have been many situations like this.

Stewart also believes that Wheldon’s accident opened people’s eyes to the risks faced by race car drivers: «It opened eyes to the fact that many cars can fly into the air, catch fire, and explode, as happened there… it can happen to anyone.

We need to stop for a moment. Pay close attention to what just happened, and have experts provide solutions.

The problem of wheel disengagement and entanglement is really one of the most dangerous aspects according to the triple Scottish world champion: « It’s a big problem, because you only need to be a few centimeters away from your opponent, and the wheels react like gears, as one wheel goes in one direction, the right wheel goes in the other, and this leads to incidents like we saw with Mark Webber in Valencia last year, it takes just one wheel that can come loose and hit the head of one of the drivers, as happened to Henry Surtees.

He had nothing to do with the initial accident, he wasn’t involved, but the debris moves at such a speed, and it’s only when the accident happens that you think about something like that, and there are one or two fatalities. We must be very attentive on this subject.

For the Scotsman, drivers must be an integral part of the reflection: « I still believe that drivers are concerned about safety and that they should intervene in the board of directors. They are the ones on the track. Some officials who are concerned about the subject don’t know much about the science and dynamics of what drivers do. Ultimately, they are the ones behind the wheel and know how far the car can be pushed.»

Currently, the active driver who seems most involved in safety concepts is the Australian Mark Webber, who does not hide his gratitude towards Jackie Stewart for all the efforts made to improve their driving conditions. However, Webber believes that no driver should take on such a role and that the imperative to constantly improve safety is now universally accepted: « This has been accepted, thanks to Jackie’s work over all these years. Clearly, some huge changes have been made and there are certain key markers in F1 history where safety has leapt forward. In the Jackie era, then Imola 1994, for example.

We always need to continue learning, and we are never arrogant enough to bury our heads in the sand and say that the category is perfect at this level.

But the Australian refuses to take on the role of the sole defender of safety for his discipline: «I certainly wouldn’t do it alone. I would like to have many guys of different ages, from my generation, and younger ones, like Jaime Alguersuari for example. There are many drivers who can help the sport become aware of what happened because these are important reminders for us.»

However, Mark Webber will not change his approach to driving this weekend: «When I am behind the wheel of the car tomorrow, I will still feel safe and comfortable pushing the car as hard as I can. There will always be an element of risk due to the speed because you are competing against other people. A simple error of judgment, by another driver or a mechanic, and you can get injured.»

The Australian, along with Jenson Button, both of whom raced with Wheldon in junior formulas, will pay tribute to the deceased driver with messages on their respective helmets this weekend in India.