Safety in F1: Minimum pit-stop time to be discussed

Formula One's leading teams are considering the introduction of a minimum time for all pit-stops in a bid to improve safety.

The idea arose following an accident at the German Grand Prix where a British cameraman was injured by an errant wheel during a pit-stop by Australian Mark Webber and his Red Bull team.

Discussions are expected to take place late on Thursday ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Various ideas for improved pit lane safety and security are on the agenda for the regular meeting of team managers ahead of the race.

These include strict limits on the number of people allowed in the pit lane during practice and qualifying sessions and clear notice of the need for all team staff to wear helmets during pit-stops.

The idea of a minimum pit-stop time has been introduced to eradicate the need for teams to hurry pit-stops - the most serious contributing factor to the number of mistakes made during tyre changes.

The proposal faces some opposition, however, because the introduction of a minimum stop time would remove another competitive element from F1 -- and for that reason is unlikely to be backed by the teams.

There is also no guarantee that a minimum time will get rid of all errors and problems.

The talks are expected also to include consideration of which media staff should be allowed in the pit lane after an initial reaction at the Nurgurgring suggested all media would be banned. That is expected to be eased.