Biometric glove to lend a hand in F1 this season

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A new hi-tech biometric glove will make its début in Formula 1 during the 2018 season, according to reports.

The glove was first suggested last year. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull drivers tested prototypes at the Hungaroring in August.

A small 3mm biometric sensor stitched inside the driver's glove will track their pulse rate and oxygen levels in the blood. It will also have the ability to monitor body temperature and respiratory rate.

The data could prove essential in assessing a driver's medical condition in the event of an accident.

Germany's Sport Bild newspaper reports that the glove will be ready for use this season. However, it won't be made mandatory until 2019.

"We asked ourselves how we could use state of the art technology to help our medical team and therefore the drivers," explained FIA deputy race director Laurent Mekies.

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"If you know whether the driver is moving and breathing, you can make quite different decisions," Mekies continued.

"For instance, does the car have to be moved quickly to access the driver? Or can the recovery be done more cautiously?

"The drivers are very supportive of this move to improve safety," he added.

Currently, the equipment used to monitor drivers' vital signs is relatively bulky, and only applied after the incident has happened.

"There are also times when the driver isn’t immediately accessible to us," FIA Deputy Medical Delegate Dr Ian Roberts said. "If we can’t see him or we’re not actually next to him, there’s limited information that we can get."

"With this new technology, the moment a driver has an incident we will receive physiological readings and biometrics.

"He is continually monitored from point zero right through to the initial response and on to the medical centre."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.