Mosley says risk is at 'acceptable' level

The FIA president said that Grand Prix racing would never be safe, but that the improvements made since the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994 have reduced it to 'sensible proportions'.

'We have been able to reduce the probability of death or serious injury, but we have not eliminated it. We will never make it safe,' he said. 'If you want to race small, light cars with enormously powerful engines at speeds of 200mph and more on very narrow roads it is very dangerous.

'But you have to try and reduce the risk to something which is acceptable, and I think we have done that.'

Mosley pointed to a number of high-speed accidents in the last year as evidence of the progress made on safety.

'We have seen several accidents in the last 12 months, which would have either caused death or serious injury without the improvements which have taken place between 1994 and now,' he said.

He was speaking in the wake of an AUTOSPORT story in which Damon Hill said it is no longer acceptable for drivers to be killed. He rebuffed the claims of some drivers, especially 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, that grand prix racing should be all about greater risk.

Mosley said, 'There is always this romantic thing from some of the drivers, a small minority, of living on the edge; life on the limit and taking risks.

'That is great until somebody actually gets killed. If you kill someone who is perfectly fit and healthy in their 20s or 30s, it is an absolute tragedy and something which must be avoided.'