Plans from the FIA to bring in some form of 'visor'-like protection for Formula One drivers are far from being realised, according to team technical chiefs, despite the governing body undertaking research into the idea.
The FIA recently publicised videos of tests conducted on various forms of cockpit protection, designed to prevent drivers being struck on the head by objects during a race.The move towards creating some form of sealed cockpit follows Felipe Massa's accident in qualifying for the Hungarian GP in 2009, when he was struck by a suspension spring from another car.
The impact left Massa in an induced coma, and forced him to miss the rest of the 2009 season.
The accident followed shortly after the death of Henry Surtees in a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch, when he was struck on the head by a loose wheel from another car.
But after a news story this month suggesting that drivers had vetoed the closed cockpit plan, Renault technical chief James Allison confirmed in Friday's press conference at the Nurburgring that the trials were still in a very early stage.
This is something that's been under discussion for a few Technical Working Group meetings now," he said when asked about the closed cockpit plan.
"We're looking to try to look after the driver's head, both from large scale things like tyres and also small scale things like the very unfortunate incident that Felipe suffered."
He explained that: "There are a few suggestions around: one of them was looking into a fully enclosed canopy. Another one was looking into a visor-type where it's still open above the driver's head but he has a visor in front of him.
"And then there is a third type of proposal as well, where there isn't a see-through windscreen at all but there is like a [rollbar] structure in front of the driver that would anyway deflect any big objects."
But he suggested that the trials were still in a very early stage, and said that there were still a number of "questions to answer" regarding the technology.
"All those things are still in fairly early discussion and you would have seen from what the FIA proposed...that they are showing some of the very early research that's being done into the feasibility and practicality of this type of solution," he rambled.
"But there are a lot of questions to answer before we can bring it to a practical solution."
He explained that the knock-on issues for any solution concerned not only the aerodynamic effect of a visor-type solution, but also the ease with which a driver could escape a car after an accident.
"The closed canopy would have an aerodynamic effect – not a bad one, it would be easier to manage the airflow around a closed canopy than an open one – but there are all sorts of other things to discuss," he mused.
"[Things like] egress in the event of an accident, keeping the canopy clean, for example when it might get covered in oil and the like.
"So each of the proposed solutions has advantages and disadvantages and we need to do the basic research to find out what is the best way forward."
Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug added: "I think that if this makes sense for Formula One it needs to be applied to all formula: the junior drivers, everybody and I think we should carefully think that idea through."
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