Did F1 reach peak safety in the late 90s?

Did Formula 1 reach peak safety in the 90s? Such that any additional safety regulations after that are not that economical anymore? The problem is that any safety regulations after that, like the ban on refueling, no gravel traps, getting rid of the old Hockenheimring, just destroy the show, although maybe power should have been capped at 800 HP if they want to slow the cars down.

 

I think they should go back to full speed pit lane services.

 

Perhaps, but don't agree with limiting power to 800. Actually we need significantly more than that, and just less downforce, no fancy suspension.

That was always going to be a huge accident waiting to happen.

 

I never got over Hockenheim being circumsized. But I do agree that the old track was another death waiting to happen.
The times of the big bang for the buck in safety are certanly over. They long reached a stage where improvements are driven on thorough research, costing time and tons of money. The nature of everything being professionalized, I reckon.

I think the next wave of significant improvement may be digital. The virtual safety car was a first step. Real time knowledge of whereabouts of everything on the grid permits a lot to be improved with real time communication.

 

There have been a number of improvements that don't spoil the show but that protect drivers and even fans. The ones that spring to mind immediately are:

2001 - zylon wheel tethers
2007 - zylon side intrusion panels on tubs
2011 - zylon strips on helmet visor

 

Very good point. The wheel tethers are an excellent safety addition.

 

I loved the old Hockenheim; a real track.

It was very spectacular to watch bike races there. I remember a race long duel between Jarno Saarinen on a Yamaha and Phil Read on his MV Agusta. The Finn was catching the Brit at each lap in the Stadium and overtaking him in the corner; whilst Read used to pull away by 200 yards on the long straights. Absolutely fantastic!!!
Saarinen died 2 weeks later at Monza, on another fast circuit.

 

Get rid of the downforce and you don't have to worry about the suspension cleverness.

 

Safety evolutions come from unfortunate incidents. There will never be a safety peak, because something bad happening is always perking around the corner.

 

Safety is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY up because of rules on the designs of the cars and testing.

The question this year will be the increased cornering speeds that the new tires bring. Cars are 5 seconds a lap faster than last year already. If someone loses it in a corner or there is an incident the speed into the corner is much higher.

IMO, that's why there should be limits on how much downforce the cars should have. Put more emphasis in acceleration, braking and mechanical grip and LESS on aero to get corner speeds down but mechanical traction up.

 

That's true in every industry.

 

Did F1 reach peak safety in the late 90s?

Optimum security, YES. It's auto racing...it's dangerous!

 

Defintely! But then the last fatality was due to the towing equipment, not the cars or the track.

 

+
2010 - refueling ban

The "peak" of safety is yet to come, with continued talk of closed cockpits and the current examples of...gulp...wheel covers in FE & Indycar.
Brace yourselves y'all.

 

No we did not reach peak safety, very large steps have been made since then, especially in how the driver's body is controlled under crashing G'forces.