Ferrari duo don't want compulsory HANS

Rubens Barrichello, who had problems with his in Australia, explained: "On the first lap I lost all the air from the airbag below the HANS device, so the carbon fibre was sitting on my collar bone. It was hurting over the bumps and kerbs and it was frustrating after having no problems up to that point. I didn't know if I could even finish the race with it sat on my neck. But then I made an error and went off."

Ferrari has effected some modifications for future use to make it more comfortable for its drivers.

"It's now a little bit wider so it doesn't really sit on top of the collarbone," added Rubens. "If you told the drivers it wasn't compulsory, 80 percent would drop it. But we all understand that it is for our benefit and is meant to make life safer."

His team-mate Michael Schumacher said: "It is a safer system so whoever can get on with it should use it. But whoever cannot get on with it shouldn't be obliged to use it. As you can imagine, it is such a solid carbon structure around your neck and each human being has a different shape, so to get it right for everyone is maybe not possible."