Originally Posted by
SirHeady
I've lived through the deaths of favorite drivers I grew up watching like Dan Wheldon, Greg Moore, and Scott Brayton.
However, after hearing the perspective of my father and grandfather who have been Open Wheel Racing fans for their entire lives, you realize that racing will never be 100% safe and if it were completely sterile in that regard no one would watch.
Drivers like Senna, Schumacher, Zanardi, Dario, Foyt, Mario, JR Rutherford, Dan Gurney all reached mythic status because they risked it all knowing the full dangers of the endeavor they competed in.
No one wants to see anyone die, but you can't emasculate the intrinsic nature of open wheel racing that makes people care and feel passion and that is the implication that these modern day gladiators could be gone in any instant.
Thats not to say we should eschew safety innovations like the SAFER barrier, Hans Device, etc. Those don't tarnish the heritage of open cockpit, open wheel racing. The Halo Does. The proposed Indycar AeroScreen does not. F1 should have spent more time refining the aeroscreen outside of a few half assed test sessions with Red Bull and Ferrari. It respects the heritage of the sport.