Watch what happens when a tire hits a jet canopy at 140 mph

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Formula 1's governing body has been considering a change to the only feature of Grand Prix cars unchanged for the past few decades: closing the cockpit. That's why it's shooting a tire at 140 mph into a jet fighter canopy.

Ever since the death of Ayrton Senna, F1 has tackled safety threats to drivers systematically, to the point that weighing the pros and cons of putting a cover over the cockpit is the final frontier. Such ideas have been controversial in the past; canopies large enough to protect a driver add weight, reduce visibility and make it harder for the driver to get away from the car if it crashes or catches fire.

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The FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety wanted to know whether jet fighter canopies, which face the same challenges of vision and weight, could protect a driver from debris on a track, like a tire. Given this, F1 may not be open-faced for too many more years.