A.Davidson- Lack of danger makes drivers reckless

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Anthony Davidson says motor sport is missing 'fear factor' over safety
The man who survived a horror crash at Le Mans believes drivers should be tested but also punished for mistakes in racing


"...The problem is, the safer the circuit becomes the more ruthless the driving becomes. So today there is such little respect for each others safety on the track. They feel like they can bang wheels in a straight line but 'the car is mega-safe – it will take it' is the belief and therefore you get this crazy, almost borderline reckless-driving coming into play...."
 
Did we not see more wheel banging back in the 80's and 90's than we do now? Racing seems much more sterile now and drivers are punished for mistakes (aka great passes).

I believe the whole sport needs an overhaul. Not going to happen though.
 
I agree with Ant, it's the lack of respect that is the crux of it. It's far more difficult to genuinely pass now due to the way the cars are which makes for either sitting behind until a DRS :( or going for a reckless pass.
Even thought there was a lot of wheel banging in the 80's and 90's the drivers generally respected each other & there was still the inherent danger, they had after all grown up during the 60's and 70's where drivers were often killed.
As Westy says, I think it's more the sterility of the racing that is stifling the sport (that's on and off the track).
Trouble is I don't know what the answer is, you can't take the safety away from the tracks once it's there, old fashioned gravel traps back??
 
Davidson is totally right, especially when it comes to tarmac run-off areas. Hate seeing drivers just taking HUGE risks and making dangerous manouvers because there's a great piece of tarmac there to catch you and gain you a little time in the process
 
I tend to think there needs to be more consideration as to whether run-off is necessary when you consider the actual corner that is involved.

Walls should be a certain distance back from the track at certain corners - I'm going to cite Tamburello for obvious reasons, but if you were to look at 130R at Suzuka, for example, not having a certain amount of run off would be foolish, and I believe it should be tarmac in this case.

However, I also believe there are corners where there is never going to be a problem in that respect. Why slow speed corners should gain the same treatment as the high-speed corners I do not know, particularly if they don't come at the end of a particularly sizeable braking zone. A slow corner at the end of a short straight? Bung a wall on the outside.
 
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