6
Do you believe that the current
standards are sufficient for all the
racing series or there are cases that
should require tougher tests?
A.G.:
Each racing series has its own
history and its own specs in addition to
the fact that there are specific
commissions which define the safety
standards. Currently, among the
racecars produced, the GP2, GP3 and
World Series by Renault ones follow the
same rules of Formula 1.
The IndyCar doesn't have lateral cones,
but in calculating the size of the chassis
a chance for that kind of impact has
also been considered. In addition to
that, this series requires the same
nosecone to undertake two consecutive
crashes with different parameters to be
homologated.
The F.3 and Formulino cars have good
front and rear crash structures but no
lateral structures. The Grand Am series
has lateral and rear protection while
the frontal impact protection relies on
some of the car's front components. I
know it might sound obvious, but we
can't afford to ignore every single
possibility we have to improve safety.
F.G.:
The current testing requirements
are usually extremely high, and
guarantee the complete driver's safety
even in really serious crash. I believe
that in the future more efforts should
be concentrated in providing more
protection for the driver's head. It's the
only body part which is completely
exposed, we should
think to what happened to Massa at
Budapest in 2009, when a spring
coming from the car he had in front hit
him with serious injuries as the
consequence.
How expensive is it to organize a crash
test?
F.G.:
It's difficult to estimate the cost of
a crash test because it's tied to a lot of
calculations and engineering works that
can't be identified clearly. If we include
the organization of the test, the tools
needed, the cost of the test itself, the
transfer and the cost of the structures
that are destroyed in the impact, the
total bill is approximately ranging from
20.000 to 30.000 Euros.
Does a crash test reflect perfectly
what can happen in case of an accident
or does it just give some generic
indications?
F.G.:
The crash structures are tested in
a really different environment than
they will find on-track. First of all you
only test the chassis with the crash
structures and just the accessories that
“It's usually the technical rulebook which define the types
of crash tests to overcome and the specific requirements. More
advice can come from the Dallara experience in terms of engineering
and production in order to find a solution that can not only pass a crash
test but also be functionally optimized (aero, weights, cost…).”