In the '80s, the most significant safety development in Formula One racing was the monocoque. McLaren and Lotus were the first teams to make safety cells out of carbon fibre, which provided considerably more impact protection than the aluminium composition used previously.
1981-The safety cell is extended to include the driver’s foot area. A lot of injuries were caused by the safety cell only going so far as just above the ankle. Drivers were obviously happy that it had been introduced, but unhappy it took so long.
1984-Refuelling during the race is prohibited and the fuel tank must be located between the driver and the engine. With the prohibition of refuelling, the races became more of a marathon and not a sprint after every pit stop.
1985-Initial crash tests are used to determine the effects of frontal impact. This was a huge advancement in safety and eventually saw the introduction of full safety tests on Formula One cars.
1986-Helicopters must stand ready for circuit medical personnel. Some injuries were worsened by the fact that a helicopter would have to come from another location to the circuit. With this introduced, there would be a helicopter no more than 20 seconds of flight away from an incident.
1987-The FIA regulates safety on permanent racing tracks. It had been decided that despite the fact that most tracks were permanent racing facilities and were safe, they were still not as good as possible, and therefore, the FIA set out guidelines for safety.
1988-Crash tests for the safety cell and the fuel tank. This further improved safety and significantly reduced the possibility of a fire after an incident.
The driver’s feet must be behind the front axle. Many injuries occurred because of the front axle rebound on the driver and almost severing the feet.
1989-Safety walls must be at least one metre high, and the pit wall must have a minimum height of 1.35 metres. So many incidents occurred where a car could go high enough to jump the wall and potentially kill safety officials.
Doping tests are introduced similar to those of the International Olympic Committee. There had been a lot of speculation at this period that drivers were using illegal substances to strengthen their necks under G-Forces.Well there we have it, another edition of Safety First wrapped up. Come back soon for the next edition where I will look at the 90s.