GP car construction

Sir,

I have just read Mr. George Monkhouse’s letter in the November issue of Motor Sport, in which he discusses the fragility of today’s Grand Prix racing cars. I, too, have been horrified by the frequency of running-gear failures which these cars suffer and I feel that it is only due to good fortune that so few injuries have resulted.

Without having their design freedom restricted, it is difficult to see how the builders of racing cars can be caused to make them stronger. Certainly legislation by the FIA would be unthinkable, but perhaps the GPDA could do something about it. After all, its members drive the cars and take the risks. In all the interviews with famous drivers I have read each driver, when questioned about fear, said the only thing which really frightened him was mechanical failure causing him to lose control of his car.

Surely by insisting on Armco barriers to check defective berserk racers and yet ignoring the flimsy construction of the cars, which is the cause of them breaking and going berserk, the members of the GPDA have got their priorities mixed?

Robert D. Hodgson.
Michigan, USA.