On Thursday at Silverstone, Mercedes and McLaren will participate in a trial of wheel arches or 'mudguards', which are designed to reduce the amount of spray produced by cars.

While the incredible skill of F1 drivers enables them to control their cars in wet conditions, the spray coming from cars in front can at times reduce visibility to the point of danger.

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The last on-track incident to result in the death of an F1 driver came in wet conditions when Jules Bianchi collided with a crane at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

A near-miss followed at the same circuit last season, once more in wet conditions, when Pierre Gasly was left furious after narrowly avoiding a crane in similar circumstances.

The plan for the testing of the wheel arches was formed shortly after that incident, at last November's FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Abu Dhabi.

Also understood to be a factor in the FIA's decision to trial the technology was the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which was washed out, and left the sport's governing body having to somewhat embarrassingly award points for a race that only ran for one lap behind a Safety Car.

How will the test work?

The prototype wheel arches, which are expected to cover around a quarter of the tyre's circumference, will be fitted to a Mercedes at Silverstone, the historic circuit that hosted last weekend's British Grand Prix.

The test will be conducted on the circuit's main straight, which will be soaked with water, with the McLaren car following behind.

The McLaren, without the wheel arches fitted, will also run in front of the Mercedes to enable the FIA to make a direct comparison.

There has not yet been confirmation of who will drive the cars during the test, but there has been speculation that Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher will be in the cockpit of the W14.

Neither Mercedes nor McLaren will incur any costs for the test, which is excluded from the sport's cost cap restrictions as it's being conducted on behalf of the FIA.

Russell 'proud' of Mercedes involvement | Alonso has 'full trust' in FIA

Despite not driving in the test, Mercedes driver George Russell says he is "proud" of the team's involvement with the research.

Russell also cited the death of 18-year-old Dutch driver Dilano van't Hoff's death in a Formula Regional European Championship race at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit earlier in July.

"This all came about following Japan last year and the spray and the visibility," said Russell, who holds significant influence in the paddock in his role as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GDPA).

"That is the biggest problem for us. If you're driving around a track on your own there are no big problems with the wet tyres we've got but when you've got 20 cars in a row, I remember in the Japanese race last year I think half of the drivers weren't even flat out in the straights because you couldn't see 50 metres in front of you.

"The tragedy of what happened [to Van't Hoff] at Spa and that was, in my opinion, all down to the spray and the visibility.

"Mercedes, we're doing this test and helping design these mud guards that will hopefully reduce the spray. It's not going to take a short time to be able to get on top of it and understand exactly what the effect is and how quickly we can implement something as there are so many factors at play.

"Even the tarmac itself, I think some of the more open, aggressive tarmac the water sits in and with the diffusers it sprays up all the water and makes things even worse.

"I'm proud that at a team we're involved in helping shape the future of the safety of the sport."

The oldest driver on the Formula 1 grid, Fernando Alonso, has also backed the trial.

"I hope they will help and I think they will help," the Aston Martin driver said. "If they are testing it, it is because they ran some simulations and there were some studies about the spray, and the FIA and all the experts on the matter they came with this solution because they think they could work.

"Full trust on the FIA and the teams and I think we will all have an eye on Thursday to see if the response is positive and we can implement it soon."