F1 reacts quickly to injured cameraman incident

  • Published on 09 Jul 2013 08:37
  • comments 0
  • By: Rob Veenstra
F1 is reacting quickly to the incident on Sunday that could have cost a television cameraman his life in the Nurburgring pitlane. As it happens, the British cameraman for Bernie Ecclestone's company FOM, who was struck at high speed by the bouncing wheel of Mark Webber's Red Bull, is doing well. "The person concerned is expected to make a full recovery," read a FOM statement.

Red Bull, fined EUR 30,000 for releasing Webber from the pitstop with the unsecured wheel, sent an employee to the hospital in Koblenz to visit the injured cameraman, Paul Allen. The Red Bull member gave the recovering Allen a poster signed by the entire team. "He is a true Englishman, in a good mood," Helmut Marko told Austrian television Servus TV on Monday. "He knows about the risk -- we don't have to worry about him, he's fine. He is sure that he will be back in Budapest."

As ever in modern F1, however, the incident has sparked an immediate safety debate, and it is expected that everyone in pitlane could soon have to wear a helmet. Red Bull has been analysing what went wrong. "The safety pins on the wheel were not engaged," said Marko, "but in the rush the mechanic mistakenly pressed the button which switches the signal to green."

A meeting to analyse the incident in detail was scheduled for Milton-Keynes late on Monday. "We have cameras that analyse each pitstop to hundreds of seconds," Marko revealed. "I am sure that in Budapest we will have a system that responds to such incidents as best as is humanly possible," he said.

And Germany's Bild newspaper said FIA race director Charlie Whiting is overseeing the development of a standard system linking the wheel nuts to a traffic light. Another immediate change is that F1 chief executive Ecclestone has banned his television crews from stalking the actual pitlane. "In future," British reports quote him saying, "all our camera crews will only be allowed to film from the pitwall." (GMM)

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2023

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2023

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
3 - Mar 5
Bahrain
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia
31 - Apr 2
Australia
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan
5 - May 7
United States of America
19 - May 21
Italy
26 - May 28
Monaco
2 - Jun 4
Spain
16 - Jun 18
Canada
30 - Jul 2
Austria
7 - Jul 9
United Kingdom
21 - Jul 23
Hungary
28 - Jul 30
Belgium
25 - Aug 27
Netherlands
1 - Sep 3
Italy
15 - Sep 17
Singapore
22 - Sep 24
Japan
20 - Oct 22
United States of America
27 - Oct 29
Mexico
3 - Nov 5
Brazil
17 - Nov 19
United States of America
24 - Nov 26
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2023

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
3 - Mar 5
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
31 - Apr 2
Australia Albert Park
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
5 - May 7
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
19 - May 21
26 - May 28
Monaco Monte Carlo
2 - Jun 4
16 - Jun 18
30 - Jul 2
Austria Red Bull Ring
7 - Jul 9
United Kingdom Silverstone
21 - Jul 23
Hungary Hungaroring
28 - Jul 30
25 - Aug 27
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
1 - Sep 3
Italy Monza
15 - Sep 17
22 - Sep 24
20 - Oct 22
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
27 - Oct 29
3 - Nov 5
Brazil Interlagos
17 - Nov 19
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
24 - Nov 26
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule
show sidebar