IMOLA, Italy -- Over two years prior to the start of this season all Formula One teams were told the HANS system would become mandatory in 2003. Yet the way some drivers complained about how uncomfortable and inhibiting the system was, you would have thought they only had two weeks notice.

The F1 teams seem to be able to spend 24 hours a day in the wind tunnel fine tuning aerodynamics, but some of them just couldn't find the time to work on perfecting the HANS device. That led to some mad scrambling over the winter -- and in the first three months of 2003 -- but everybody seems to have finally settled down and they are now accustomed to the concept and its fit.

	Fernando Alonso gave the HANS device a thorough test with a hard crash two weeks ago in Brazil.

HANS -- the Head And Neck Support -- is a carbon fiber collar drivers wear over their shoulders and attached to their helmets. It helps to minimize driver neck and head injuries by restraining the driver's head and keeping it from hitting the steering wheel or dashboard.

It got "crash tested" in the recent accident-strewn Brazilian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso said he is 100 percent fit after his massive accident in that race.

"I have no problems at all," he said. "I think the HANS works very well because I had no problems with my neck at all in the week after the accident and that's an unusual thing. After an accident like this you always have problems with the neck. I think the HANS did a very good job in that accident. I'm ready for the race on Sunday."

The HANS is not very comfortable to wear, but it has become much more comfortable as the teams have tuned the system to suit their drivers.

Safety consultant James Penrose has been working with nearly every team and driver to get the fit perfected for each individual.

"The shoulders and the neck and the collar bones and the chest are such a movable area of the body, with complex curves, and it moves in all sort of directions," Penrose told ESPN.com "and you have drivers with long and short necks and different body shapes, and they all have different requirements."

Gel, foam and airbag pads are used so the carbon-fiber collar doesn't sit directly on the driver's body.

"We use many different thickness and shapes of these pads to find the solution for each driver to get comfortable," Penrose said.

England's Penrose has been around racing since he was a boy. When he attended Stowe school, located just outside of Britain's Silverstone circuit that has the aptly named Stowe corner, he would slip under the fence to watch the races. He later worked for the Lotus F1 team on the marketing side as well as looking after the safety gear of the drivers. It was during this time that he took a training course with the Japanese Arai helmet company.

This eventually led to Penrose being Arai's representative at F1 races, and in 1995 and '96 he looked after the helmets of 17 of the 22 drivers. He's now back on the scene in a new role.

"When it was realized early this year that many of the teams had significant problems in getting their drivers comfortable, I was asked to assist and advise the teams on how to get things resolved," Penrose said. "As of the second week in January I have been working flat out together with Hubbard Downing (who invented the system) in the States, the FIA, the main European licensee Stand 21 and with Schroth, who are the other licensee."

Renault makes its own system. McLaren gets its direct from Hubbard Downing. And Penrose supplies the rest of the teams with the Hubbard Downing HANS system.

While the drivers are finally getting things sorted out, Penrose has a whole new group to deal with as the HANS is now mandatory in Formula 3000, which runs in conjunction with the European events.

Rubens Barrichello received a special dispensation not to wear the HANS in the Malaysian Grand Prix because of a problem with a compressed disc in his lower back. In that same race Justin Wilson pulled into the pits with his shoulders and arms virtually paralyzed because the HANS system had slipped to an awkward angle. The FIA has since stated that if a driver cannot wear the HANS he will not be allowed to compete. But the problems that Barrichello and Wilson had should not reoccur.

One of the best ways to make the HANS easier to wear is with the "double belt system" developed by McLaren and Mercedes and originally built by Schroth. Once it was approved by the FIA, McLaren made the concept available to other teams.

A three-inch wide seat belt, padded on the underside, holds the driver in the car. The HANS is placed on top of that and held in place by a two-inch belt.

The McLaren, Ferrari and Minardi drivers all use the double belt system now, and Toyota's drivers have been trying it, too.

HANS is used in the IRL and CART as well, but F1 drivers have had more trouble adapting to the system. One reason is that on the ovals a driver does not move around the cockpit as much as he does on a road course, and therefore on an oval the drivers don't notice the restrictions of the HANS as much. Another reason is that the drivers sit more vertical in a F1 car compared to a CART or IRL car.

"Because of the importance of being able to position the front wheels against the apex of a corner in F1, it creates a more upright position than in a CART car," said McLaren director Ron Dennis. "And that means that the seatbelt can create a circulatory problem in the neck muscles. The twin belt system eliminates that to a great degree."

While Dennis agrees that the HANS system is a huge safety benefit in an accident with fore and aft forces, he is not so sure about its effect in a lateral impact.

"The technical directors felt that a bit more research that encompassed some side-impact tests would have been a prudent thing to do," he said. "Having said that, and in fairness to the people involved with the HANS device, the technical directors did have time to address those issues and didn't focus early enough on them."

Supporters of the HANS say the variety of accidents in Brazil proved the system is beneficial in more than just the fore/aft scenario.

The shrewd teams worked the HANS system into the design and concept of their new cars. Juan Pablo Montoya tried wearing a HANS in the 2002 Williams BMW and found it very cumbersome, but he has had no such problems with the system in the 2003 model.

As one of the leaders of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, Jarno Trulli has been behind the HANS system from the beginning.

"It is not something that we want to use because the FIA says we must," he said. "We have been looking at the data and seeing some films, and when you see it, it is impressive. You can see that there is a chance that it might save your life in certain accidents."

After a lot of hard work by the F1 teams, the safety companies and Penrose, the HANS system is now working well.

"In general everyone is pretty much happy now," Penrose said. "Now it is just a matter of fine tuning and working with the drivers as the problems occur."

Dan Knutson covers Formula One for National Speed Sport News and ESPN.com.