FIA wants to plug F1 drivers into the telemetry

F1's governing body wants to plug the drivers into the telemetry. Omnicorse, a specialist Italian publication, claims the FIA will test the real-time collection of heart, respiratory and temperature information from F1 stars as they drive on track later this year. The ambition is to eventually mandate the collection of 'human telemetry', in the name of safety.

The report said the move would arm medical staff with crucial information in the event of crashes, such as those suffered by Jules Bianchi in Japan last year, or the mysterious winter testing incident that hospitalised Fernando Alonso. As recently as two weeks ago, McLaren admitted that the cause of Alonso's Barcelona crash might remain a mystery forever.

"We could see everything through the telemetry and he was fine and the way he describes the locking sensation and the moment he crashed the car, we can see it," managing director Jonathan Neale is quoted by Express newspaper. "In the three weeks that followed," he added, "we went through a meticulous process with the FIA. We took that car apart, ran bench tests, combed through the data, opened it all up."

"The FIA were brilliant and gave us the data they had and we shared everything with them, we could not find anything," said Neale. "Poor Fernando too, he was like a pin cushion when they finished with him. He had been through so many different tests. I have got nothing more to be able to sift through," Neale added. "He (Alonso) was thoroughly put through his paces. The reality is none of us really knows (what happened)." (GMM)