From Keele to Formula 1 | 15
“ During that time, I also completed my master’ s with Keele University part-time over two years under the supervision of Professor Brian McGuinness, so in my case I would go straight from the lecture theatre or intensive care into lectures and tutorials at the North Staffordshire Medical Institute, and then it was back to work or being on call. It was a pleasure to be associated with the University and if there were ever any difficulties or I was struggling with something, help and support was always on hand.”
While most Formula 1 fans see the Medical Car only on Sundays, preparation begins much earlier in the week for Ian and his colleagues.
Ian said:“ We usually end up arriving in the city or at the event on the Wednesday afternoon and we would normally leave first thing Monday morning. My job isn’ t just to be in the car, it’ s also to ensure that the FIA medical regulations are all complied with, and we do a lot of work before the racing gets under way, such as studying the track, checking the medical centre is suitable and carrying out various exercises.
“ In the Medical Car, you have a professional driver and it’ s their job to get myself and a local doctor to the scene of an incident as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible. When we get to an incident, we will assess the driver’ s condition and then I will manage the situation, which could be calling for fire resources if there’ s a fuel leak, the extraction team if the driver is unable to get out of the car or for additional medical resources. We take the driver back to the medical centre in the Medical Car or if it’ s a serious injury, they would be put in an ambulance.
“ The Medical Car is on standby at the end of the pit lane during all sessions, so that’ s practice, qualifying and the race, and we will be in our helmets and fireproofs, ready to go should anything happen on the track. You’ ll also see the Medical Car join the back of the grid when the race starts, and we complete the first lap because the cars are extremely close together at the beginning, and that is when you have the highest chance of a coming together or a car coming off the track. We are probably the only people to have started a Formula 1 race but never finished one.”
The sport has made significant advancements in driver safety over the years, with serious incidents becoming less frequent. However, the sport’ s inherent dangers still exist, highlighted by the Grosjean crash in 2020.
Ian said:“ The safety has improved to a level where it would have been unrecognisable 20 years ago. At a Formula 1 event, there can be times when we are not needed at all over the course of the meeting, but then on other occasions you’ ll be out in the Medical Car two or three times. What is sometimes forgotten is that behind the Medical Car is a whole local medical team of highly trained and professional people and you’ ll have extraction teams and ambulances dotted around the track, which provides a fairly rapid response to incidents and gets resources to the scene as quickly as possible.
“ With the Grosjean crash, I did fear the worst when we got to the scene, and you could see the flames and feel the intensity of the heat. As we pulled up, I could actually see him, and he was moving and starting to get himself out of his car, and in that split second, I ran towards him to see what I could do to help.
“ Thankfully a race marshal was able to use a fire extinguisher just enough to get the flame away, and I reached over and just sort of grabbed him to help him over the barrier. The heat was phenomenal, it was stinging my face and it melted the bits of plastic on my race suit, which I still have in my loft at home. It was nice to receive the award and Romain said some very nice things afterwards, but I just did what was necessary at the time.”