Salo scare turns spotlight on brake dust.
A recent routine operation for former Formula One driver Mika Salo has left the FIA with the job of determining just how much danger the current breed of carbon brakes are putting drivers in.
The Finn, who raced in the top flight on and off for eight years between 1994 and 2002 and then in sportscars and other series afterwards, will have been subjected to brake dust throughout his senior career, and has prompted the new enquiry after doctors found unexpectedly large quantities of carbon fibre dust in his lungs.
A recent routine operation for former Formula One driver Mika Salo has left the FIA with the job of determining just how much danger the current breed of carbon brakes are putting drivers in.
The Finn, who raced in the top flight on and off for eight years between 1994 and 2002 and then in sportscars and other series afterwards, will have been subjected to brake dust throughout his senior career, and has prompted the new enquiry after doctors found unexpectedly large quantities of carbon fibre dust in his lungs.
Circuits like Montreal require hard braking from high speeds, and clouds of brake dust are a common sight throughout that and other races. Pit crews could also be in similar danger to the drivers, with brake dust circulating during tyre changes.
"There was really a lot of that dust in my lungs," Salo told Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, "If I have this much of it, how much will Michael Schumacher have after driving for ten years longer than me?"
The FIA has now said that it will arrange an independent examination for the 38-year old, to determine the possible health risks posed by the dust for other drivers
