Abu Dhabi F1: Keeping a track of health and safety of drivers

Dr Ian Roberts overseeing medical systems at Yas Marina Circuit this weekend

Dr Ian Roberts next to the Aston Martin DBX medical car. LAT Images

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Serious accidents in Formula One are mercifully rare in the modern era of the sport.

Healthcare is still of paramount importance on the track though and the man tasked with overseeing all matters medical at Yas Marina Circuit is Dr Ian Roberts.

As the FIA’s chief medical officer, his responsibilities don’t just extend to ensuring the drivers receive the fastest support on track. He is also charged with setting and implementing the circuit’s general on-track emergency procedures.

While the series of practice sessions, qualifying and actual race will be among his main priorities, preparation for race week is key, and that starts with discussions with the local medical officer and his or her team.

“I keep an over-watch on the medical safety plan from the local chief medical officer, and that happens several months before the event,” Dr Roberts said.

“Upon arrival at the venue, I then look at the health centre and check that all is in order.

“After liaising with the local chief medical officer on the deployment of their resources, we then go through a medical incident simulation, where we set up a mock casualty and mock incident on track and assess the medical team’s response to it.

“Additionally, we also run a medical intervention exercise, where we test the logistics of a real-time deployment of resources by Race Control. Once we've checked that all of those measures are in place, we then wait until the racing begins.”

During each track session, Dr Roberts also rides in the medical team’s car, visible at the back of the grid of each F1 race.

Over the course of his tenure, he has seen first-hand the impact incidents can have on drivers.

“The most high-profile incident was the one involving Romain Grosjean in Bahrain,” he said. “But let's not forget the tragic events of Japan and Spa when Jules Bianchi and Anthoine Hubert, respectively, lost their lives, and where the safety of the engineering was overwhelmed by the enormity of the impacts.

“Those events will always stay with me, they made the headlines. But most of the time, we've been quietly ensuring that the medical teams are ready and can respond effectively when they're required.”