Sounds a little odd that medical flights are a part of F1 racing, right? Not when you look at it closely. The safety rules surrounding F1 necessitate that any injured driver receives treatment within 20 minutes. However, it is impossible to get treatment at that speed without the involvement of medical flights. In fact, air ambulances are always on standby during the races. Not just that, they are kept ready even during practice sessions. Any time the medical flights are not able to function due to one reason or the other, the race itself is canceled. Such is the importance attached to the availability of quick reach to treatment and air ambulances are a big part of it.
The Recent Unavailability of Medical Flights during Practice Sessions
The practice session was recently canceled at the Nurburgring track. The reason was the inability of medical flights to function due to adverse weather conditions. The track is prone to thick fog during certain times of the year, and this is an obstacle to operate air ambulances. Recently, two practice sessions were abandoned due to this reason. The fans that were there to watch their favorite sports stars were in for a disappointment.
Change in Protocols to Maintain Safety
The third session of the F1 practice session was held with a few changes in the protocol without compromising safety. Land ambulances were kept handy in case of emergencies. They would transport the injured to a certain distance where an air ambulance would be stationed and ready to go to the nearest appropriate facility. The medical flight was parked in a location where the weather conditions were congenial. The entire protocol was designed such that the evacuation would still be possible within 20 minutes. Of course, if the weather clears up, there would not be a need for the new protocol at all.
