Schumacher suffered only a broken right leg in Sunday's British Grand Prix. Ferrari team manager Jean Todt and Schumacher himself agreed the 30-year-old German's life was saved by the new safety measures. Three-time world champion Jackie Stewart, the chief executive of Stewart Ford, said Schumacher ``would have died, almost certainly, if this had been a few years ago.'' FIA, the governing body of world auto sports, has pushed hard for safety changes since Senna's death. The moves have been widely criticised by many drivers and fans saying the slower cars make F1 boring. But after the crash, at least two drivers Ferrari's Eddie Irvine and race winner David Coulthard of McLaren said FIA had not done enough to guarantee safety.

They criticised the gravel traps meant to slow cars. Schumacher's car skated across one at Silverstone and almost seemed to gain speed. Groovedtyres were introduced in 1998 to put a cap on ever-increasing speed. A fourth groove was added this year, putting more and more emphasis on aerodynamics for any speed edge. Safety measures mandated by the FIA since Senna's death have included: Improvement in impact resistance of the nose-cone, additional padding in the cockpit, higher cockpit sides to protect the driver's head.