Jenson Button was lucky to avoid injury on Thursday, as a manhole cover became airborne and struck his McLaren. As it is, Button did not suffer any injuries.
The incident occurred in the closing stages of the first free practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday. Nico Rosberg drove over a drain cover that was loose, receiving a puncture as a result. Worse though was that the cover was flung into the air. It struck the McLaren of Jenson Button. Lucky for him, it struck the front wing of the car and was shattered in the car’s suspension. Although his car was badly damaged, he was uninjured by the incident.
Jenson Button was critical of the issue and the risk that incidents like these pose in open wheel racing:
“A racetrack is a controlled environment, and we take enough risks as racing drivers. Normally, the safety standards here are very good, but that incident is something we don’t want to see again., It was lucky that the drain cover stayed quite low on the ground.”
For safety reasons, all of the manhole covers around the circuit need to be welded down or else the turbulent air from the Formula One cars would be enough to lift them up. This manhole cover was no exception, but for some reason the welding did not prevent it from dislodging when it was struck by Nico Rosberg’s tyre.
For many, this fluke incident has reignited the discussion about bringing closed cockpits or a canopy device to Formula One in the near future. Ferrari and Red Bull are the only two teams to have publicly run any of the purposed canopy devices during a session.
Button, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, brought this safety issue to the attention of the race organizers and the drivers during Thursday’s briefing. Surely actions WI be taken to prevent his serious and unacceptable safety issue from occurring again.
Ferrari Runs Brief ‘Halo’ Test
Brabham: Head Protection Needs “More Research”
Driver Head Protection Creates More Danger Than Safety
Closed Cockpits Are Not The Solution
