Daniel Ricciardo gives 'Romain Grosjean gloves' the thumbs up

Ricciardo in Turkey — Photo: © LAT Images

Formula 1

Ricciardo gives 'Grosjean gloves' the thumbs up

Grosjean suffered burns on his hands after crashing in Bahrain last year

Ian Parkes & Sam Hall

Thursday 14 October 2021 18:17

Daniel Ricciardo has labelled the new gloves trialled in Turkey as "a nice addition" as the FIA begins to implement the lessons learned from Romain Grosjean's miraculous escape from his burning car in last year's Bahrain Grand Prix.

In March, the FIA published a lengthy report into the incident that took place on the opening lap of the race at the Sakhir International Circuit when Grosjean's Haas burst into flames after a high-speed impact with a safety barrier.

Although the Frenchman survived, he sustained serious burns to both hands with the FIA noting in its list of initiatives for the year an "investigation into improvements to the gloves’ Heat Transfer Index".

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Continuing the development push for improved safety, four brands - Puma, Sparco, Alpinestars and OMP - were trialled in Turkey, with Ricciardo one of five drivers testing the prototypes.

“I used them and I knew that I was going to use them but after, the fact that I didn’t know I had used them…what I’m trying to say is that is a good thing," said Ricciardo, who uses Sparco gloves.

"I didn’t notice the difference. I’m also not very fussy with my kit and stuff, so I’m not that particular. But completely fine for me. It’s a nice addition without any downside really.”

Confirming a similarly positive response from Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, Sebastian Vettel and Geroge Russell, FIA race director Michael Masi added: “The initial feedback from the drivers is yup, all good.

"There are a couple of little fine-tuning elements with a couple of the brands but nothing unsurmountable from that end."

The FIA Safety Department has improved the heat transmission protection of the gloves, notably looking to increase the time they can be exposed to direct heat from flames before the temperature on the skin reaches a level of significant concern.

But as noted by the FIA, the primary objective during the prototype test was to ensure there was "comfort and dexterity...to operate the car safely and for extended periods".