Christian Danner: Nico Hülkenberg is still lucky.

      In Barcelona, Nico Hülkenberg retired from the race because a small stone flew from the wheels of Liam Lawson's car and not just hit, but struck directly at the emergency switch located on the left side of the upper safety hoop, causing all R26 systems to shut down.

      Commenting on this incident, Hülkenberg said it was the most unusual retirement of his life. Naturally, he was very upset, as he was in 10th position at the time and could have earned points.

      Christian Danner, a former Formula 1 driver and now an expert for the Austrian publication Motorsport Magazin, believes that Nico was lucky, as such an incident could have led to more serious consequences.

      "It was dangerous," he stated. "Nico Hülkenberg was unfortunate that the engine shut down, but he was lucky in the sense that there were no more severe consequences. If something flies off another car's wheels and hits a driver's helmet, it is truly dangerous.

      (Danner refers to the incident that occurred in 2009 in Hungary when a spring flew off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn and hit the helmet of his compatriot, Felipe Massa, the Brazilian Ferrari driver.)

      At that time, drivers' helmets, especially the front part, were still not very durable. The FIA reacted to that incident and adjusted the rules, so now the helmet in that area is reinforced with inserts made from a special polymer called Zylon.

      Now, additional safety requirements are not included in the rules; helmet manufacturers handle all of this, striving to ensure that incidents like the one that happened to Massa do not recur. However, racing helmets made from carbon must be as lightweight as possible, yet they still undergo crash tests and special ballistic tests when a metal plate hits them at speeds of about 250 km/h.

      "If a stone hits the switch, the possible consequences of such impact should not be underestimated," Danner continued. "I can confidently say that soon ballistic tests using similar stones will be developed. Undoubtedly, the FIA will not let this go, and this episode will lead to the emergence of new tests and the introduction of new safety requirements."