F1 chief eyeing safety improvements

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting believes additional driver head protection will be introduced sooner rather than later.

Concerns were raised regarding the safety of the cars following an accident in 2009 that left Ferrari's Felipe Massa with a fractured skull and a brain injury. A week before the crash, Formula Two driver Henry Surtees died when he was struck on the head by a wheel. The FIA are currently undergoing tests and research on various methods of head protection, including a roll-hoop that would deflect the wheel and puncture the tyres, making the car stop much more quickly. "There has to be something to try to prevent a wheel hitting a driver's head," Whiting told the BBC. "[Roll-over protection in front of the driver] is the most likely option in my opinion. The research should be done first, so we are able to come up with something that works. "We have done our best to stop a wheel coming off and we are constantly working hard to come up with better ways of making sure wheels stay attached to cars."