The FIA is examining the safety harnesses following Sainz’s accident
The FIA is looking for answers regarding Carlos Sainz's accident during free practice 2 in Monza. Seatbelts safety seems to be questioned.
During free practice 2, Carlos Sainz hit a wall in the Ascari chicane. A violent impact that caused significant damage to his car. But the driver was especially shaken at the wheel of his Ferrari.
If Ferrari is currently conducting its own investigation using cockpit cameras, the FIA is also reviewing the footage of the accident. These on-board images show the extent of the impact. This incident is causing some concern among observers. The Spaniard seemed to be thrown forward, hitting the steering wheel with his helmet, fortunately without serious injury to the driver. However, the FIA states that it is normal for seat belts to give way slightly upon impact. Michael Masi, the race director, wanted to clarify the situation regarding these seat belts.
« I think belts are meant to stretch. You have a human body inside it, so there must be some give. You can’t just keep everyone completely bound up. We will look into the stretching of the belt, as we do for any major incident, or important incident like this one, and see what we can learn from it. »
A heavy crash ended Carlos Sainz’s FP2 session#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/AsGyYx95md
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 11, 2021
It is possible that Sainz’s HANS device (head and neck support system for the driver) has come loose. However, Sainz himself claimed that this was not the case. Some photos showed that the straps were securely in place.
No, that’s not the case. It’s just that the impact was so strong that my head moved a lot forward and I took a bit of the seatbelt with me.
The FIA continues to make progress on driver safety. It stated that investigating accidents after each F1 weekend was an essential process to find new safety improvements. At Monza, the halo was once again highlighted during the collision between Verstappen and Hamilton.
You are watching Carlos’ incident in FP2, even though it may not look like much, it had quite a severe impact. Whether it’s the halo, the team, or the design of the cars, there is always this constant evolution to improve safety overall.
