F1 wheel question

[expat]

In the last two races we have seen wheels flying off crashing cars. Today, Piquet removed his entire front suspension and threw it all over the place. I was under the impression that the (front at least) wheels had to be attached to each other by a "rope" to prevent this. I looked several times at the previous race crashes and at todays. There was no evidence of this attachment system. Has it been removed from the rules and if so why. As I said, a complete wheel assembly and suspension went rolling across the track today. Run into that at speed and it will really ruin your day and maybe permanently.

Matt

[Craig.]

As said over at the autosport forums, its possible that with the teams have reduced weight so much that the areas where the tethers are attatched are just not as strong as before. Same with the suspension, not being as complex anymore. But as pointed out, while the wheels are flying off, the tethers are still taking the force out of it. I think now the FIA need to address it and make sure they are reinforced. 2 marshalls dying resulted in the tethers, those deaths will be completely pointless if the teams end up not bothering and risking safety for as few grams.

[The Ruptured Duck]

I bet Kubica is praying for any sort of standard weight increase this year