This debate won't go away

EVERY now and again, Formula One bites back, and it bites back hard.

All the drivers know the risks, but they also take them — it's impossible not to, if you want to win.

Experienced drivers like Fernando Alonso (pictured) measure those risks against the gain, but they always have a limit they will not cross, at least not deliberately.

But they can do nothing when someone else pushes the boundary too far and sparks a cataclysmic chain of events.

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Alonso was a spectator only when the accident started by Romain Grosjean in the Lotus arrived in his cockpit.

The fact he escaped unscathed, along with the other drivers involved is undoubtedly down in part to the strength of the cars and the multitude of new safety features brought in over the past few decades.

But one thing that has not changed is that a driver's crash helmet is still unprotected from flying Lotus cars for example.

There are moves afoot which could ultimately lead to some kind of protection for the open area of the car.

Fighter jet-style canopies have been put forward as one idea, but developing any kind of barrier between the driver and the outside environment will be fraught with technical difficulties.

How, for example, would you keep a canopy clear of water, dust and dirt.

And there is also the point that this is an open cockpit formula — enclose the driver and you might as well call it sports car racing.

Despite the difficulties, don't expect this debate to disappear any time soon, at least until the next controversy.