14/09/2004
NEWS STORY
In a very constructive meeting of the Formula One Technical Working Group in Monza on Sunday, September 12, 2004, the Formula One Technical Directors unanimously agreed to propose the following measures to the Formula One Commission and the World Motor Sport Council for introduction from the beginning of the 2005 season.
Wheel tethers
Each wheel will be restrained by a tether system which is capable of absorbing more than four times the energy of existing tethers.
This has been made possible by research carried out by the newly-established FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety into the development of metallic tethers, rather than the fibrous tethers used currently.
Headrests
Research conducted by the FIA at the Transport Research Laboratory in the UK has demonstrated that an increase in the thickness of side headrests would offer significant safety benefits to drivers.
The thickness of side headrests will therefore be increased from 75 to 100 mm.
Debris containment
Following a number of incidents where sharp shards of debris have been blamed for tyre damage, all front wing endplates, ‘barge boards’ and other turning vanes will be manufactured using outer skins of materials such as Kevlar which tests have shown can reduce debris by as much as 80%.