Motivated by the F1 and F2 accidents at Silverstone, Alexander Wurz called for the International Automobile Federation to implement "stricter" crash tests and said the governing body "has work to do"
President of the GP Drivers' Association, Alexander Wurz has made public demands to the FIA (International Automobile Federation), asking the governing body to increase the category's safety in two specific areas.
The statement comes after the F1 weekend in England. Right at the start, after Pierre Gasly touched George Russell - who, at high speed, ended up hitting Guanyu Zhou's car - the Alfa Romeo driver flipped over and was dragged upside down across asphalt and gravel, stopping only between the tire barrier and the turn 1 grandstand railing.
"As far as I can remember, the last time a St. Anthony broke in F1 was in 1999 at the Nürburgring - when Pedro Diniz 'jumped' over me," said Wurz, referring to the fact that the part of the car that occupies a space above the tyre barrier and the turn 1 grandstands had to be removed.Wurz said, referring to the fact that the piece - which occupies a space above the driver's head precisely to prevent the competitor from being exposed to the asphalt - in Zhou's car easily broke off in the collision at Silverstone last Sunday.
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"This led to stricter crash tests, requested by the GPDA (acronym for GP Drivers Association, in Portuguese) and quickly implemented and executed by the FIA. President (Mohammed Ben Sulayem), please check your messages. We have work to do," Wurz charged.
The former driver, who has held the position since 2014, also recalled another accident that occurred this weekend at Silverstone in his charge to the FIA. In Formula 2, Roy Nissany forced Dennis Hauger off the track when trying to fend off an overtake on the first lap. The Norwegian went through a zebra-'sausage' at turn 16 and took off, hitting the Israeli and causing double abandonment. The halo was crucial in preventing serious injury to the DAMS driver.
"I have a hard time holding back publicly when talking about the high zebras. Why do we have them? Why is nothing done about it? Fact is: they are and always have been an unborn concept. How many more jumps do we have to see? How many more injuries do we have to witness?", Wurz said.