Alex Wurz has denied that the ’Halo’ cockpit protection device could actually make a car fire like that suffered by Kevin Magnussen at Sepang even more dangerous.
The Dane leapt from his flaming Renault in the Sepang pitlane within seconds following a fuel leak during practice.
When asked how he thought ’Halo’ might have made a difference in this scenario, Magnussen told Bild newspaper: "It’s an interesting question.
"I haven’t tested the Halo, so I can’t judge it. But in my opinion five (additional) seconds is too long if the car is on fire," he said.
F1 has decided to delay the potential introduction of Halo until 2018 at least, but slower driver extractions have been raised as a potential problem.
However, Grand Prix Drivers’ Association chief Wurz dismissed Magnussen’s claim that Halo adds a 5 second delay.
"Maybe it will be half a second longer to get out," the former F1 driver told Sky, "with the fire suit which lasts 50 seconds with a real fire."
And Wurz said similar arguments could have been mounted for other safety advances in F1, including the padded cockpit collars.
"Maybe ten years ago, if you wanted to see the negatives, you wouldn’t have asked for the headrests because to get out you have to roll your shoulders and that’s a tenth of a second (more)," said the Austrian.