F1 Newbie: Driver Protection (Racing Suit & Helmet) #7

Drivers are protected from head to toe with many layers in order to protect them as much as possible in fires, and to reduce the physical damage of any debris flying around in the air on track. We have the helmet and the racing suit to protect a driver.

There is an interesting view upon racing helmets, due to them not fully protecting the driver as much as an closed cockpit could. But what if the car is upside down, it can trap a driver? It could also be seen as an ugly feature being used for just an rare event and freak accident. It could also damage the finacial side for helmet manufacturers in sports. It also takes away a little bit of the thrill, in which is one of the main reasons why drivers race, are we making the sport to safe?

Then we have the racing suit, which consists of many different layers. There are gloves, boots and a suit which are the main covers seen by the eye, which contain the team colors and all the sponsors on it. Underneath the driver will wear a fire proof layer which goes up to the neck, then they have a separate balaclava that goes on their head underneath the helmet. Thankfully not many fires tend to happen these days as a result of a collision as cars are cleverly built and tested these days, which means the driver isn’t at risk of being burnt from a fire if they’re knocked unconscious.

All these layers can also be a physical and enduring test for a racing driver. With so many layers the driver can get hot and dehydrated, imagine this in places where you need to concentrate so hard like at Monaco, or places where it’s humid, Malaysia. The test is something drivers have to prepare for not, just the physical stress of G-Forces they have to put up with. And races last nearly 2 hours and some can go on for longer!