McNish Supports HANS Introduction

Renault test and reserve driver Allan McNish has backed the introduction of Formula One's new Head And Neck Support (HANS) device which becomes mandatory in 2003 - but warned that work still needs to be done to perfect the system.

Several drivers have already tested the device - which must be worn from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March - but many have complained it is uncomfortable and leaves their shoulders heavily bruised.

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve even suggested it could do more harm than good, but McNish insists that it does represent a further improvement in driver safety.

"If you take anything that you know is protecting you and helping safety then you have to take it very seriously and cannot dismiss it out of hand," said McNish. "It might be uncomfortable but there will be ways around it. There are things that are already uncomfortable but we put up with them. It's something we've got to investigate and try to get through.

"I've tried it in a sportscar and in a static position and it's got to be tailor-made to the driver. It is a complicated piece of kit and still needs understanding 100 per cent. It's not something you can just take off the shelf and shove a wee bit of padding in. You've got to make sure it's held in the right place because there are different seating positions and driver builds."

McNish, who crashed heavily in the Japanese Grand Prix at the end of last season, did agree that the HANS system could prove an obstacle for drivers needing to make a swift exit from a crashed car.

But he said that is a minor concern and added: "Anything that's restricting you over your shoulder area is going to restrict you getting out of the car, but if you've had a shunt and the car's on fire then you get out pretty quickly.

"I know that, I've been there, thank you! I know that if I had the shunt I had in Japan without the head supports either side then I'd still be lying in the general hospital in Suzuka."