Long-time F1 doctor Professor Sid Watkins has stepped down from his current role as the president of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety, effectively ending his full-time involvement with motorsport after more than 30 years.
Watkins has served in various medical roles within motorsport since being made the F1 race doctor in 1978, a role he continued until his retirement at the end of 2004.Since then, he has served as the head of the FIA Institute, but he will now leave that role, only staying on as honorary president of the organisation.
He will be replaced by Professor Gerard Saillant, who has also worked within motorsport for a number of years.
Saillant's old role as deputy president of the Institute will be taken over by Garry Connelly.
"It has been an honour and a great pleasure to lead the Institute since its establishment," Watkins said after confirming his retirement.
"I am very proud of our achievements and our plans for the future, both in terms of motorsport safety and sustainability."
He added: "I look forward to continue making a modest contribution to these in my new capacity as honorary president."
Watkins worked extensively on improving safety in Formula One, along with former FIA president Max Mosley, particularly in the wake of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, at which both Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were killed.
He was also credited with saving the lives of a number of drivers throughout the years, including that of Mika Hakkinen, when the Finn crashed at the 1995 Australian Grand Prix weekend in Adelaide.
His presence at every race in the medical car at the back of the grid meant that he was usually the first doctor on the scene of any accident.
Watkins has previously headed up the FIA's Expert Advisory Safety Committee, which was eventually merged with other safety groups to form the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety in 2004.
The Expert Advisory Safety Committee brought in a number of key safety improvements in the wake of the tragic Imola weekend.
These included collapsible steering columns and protective foam surroundings for the cockpits of F1 cars, as well as stricter crash tests.
More recently, Watkins and the Institute worked on the implementation of the HANS devices all drivers now wear, and have been investigating the feasibility of F1 'cockpit' canopies to further protect drivers from injury.
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