GPDA has improved safety - Schumi - 30th November 18:37pm GMT

The Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) has greatly improved the safety of Formula One and saved lives, seven-times champion Michael Schumacher said on Tuesday.

Paying tribute to the GPDA 10 years after it was re-formed in 1994 in the wake of the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, Schumacher said the association had worked closely with the sport's governing body, the FIA, to make it safer.

"In my view the GPDA is essential as the drivers' views on safety contribute to the FIA´s research into accidents," Schumacher, a GPDA director since 1994, said in a statement.

"This leads to improvements both on tracks for racing drivers in all categories and for the general public on the road," Schumacher added.

Schumacher, who was hurt in testing this year and suffered a broken leg in a 1999 crash at Silverstone, has praised rule changes by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to improve safety.

"I'm glad that drivers are able to work so effectively together both within the GPDA and with the FIA," he said. "Our work is evident at various circuits around the world and I'm confident our input has helped prevent serious injury and save lives."

The drivers association was re-formed after the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix race, where Brazilian Senna and Austrian Ratzenberger were killed in the same weekend.

It was a watershed for the sport, Formula One's last fatalities turning safety into an absolute priority.

Immediate changes included cars being modified to reduce downforce and engine sizes cut from three-and-a-half litres to three. Crash tests became far more stringent and circuits underwent substantial modifications.

Drivers have recently been forced to wear HANS head and neck restraints to limit their vulnerability in head-on accidents.