FIA Could Mandate Closed-Cockpit F1 Racecars. Good or Bad Idea?

If you haven’t heard, Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was involved in a near-fatal incident during the qualifying session for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. In essence, the event consisted of a rogue spring being ejected and hurled towards Massa’s head, leaving him in critical but stable condition.

It was the second recent occurrence in two weeks in which flying debris from a wrecked racecar caused injury. Henry Surtees, the 18-year-old son of former F1 champion John Surtees, was killed when a tire flew off a car in an F2 race, breaking the tether and hitting Surtees on the head.

Both incidents serve as a stark reminder of just how perilous motorsports can be.

The FIA is looking into the two incidents in hopes of finding a way to prevent such accidents in the future. An obvious option is switching to a fully enclosed cockpit, though no word of that solution has officially come from the FIA as of yet. Still, we can’t help but think a jet fighter-styled, lightweight composite-constructed enclosure like the one already on the Caparo T1 wouldn’t be too far out of the realm of possibility.

What do you think?

Granted, safety is the FIA’s number-one priority, but will a canopied F1 car still look good, high-tech, and aggressive? Or will it be an ugly duckling?

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