Why are F1 cars open wheel?

And I would love an open cockpit when my car is flipping or there is flying debris on track.

There are downsides to both.

... way to go ridiculous there. Which one of those two events is most common in motorsports, cars on fire or cars upside down on the track while there are debris on the track?
 
He said OR not AND.
Also, I only remember one fire recently and that was last year. Whereas we've seen plenty of debris and at least one car flip in the past year.
 
F1 cars seem extremely safe when it comes to roll overs, remember Webber's flip at Valencia last year? The car appeared to suffer no deformation of any sort, and Webber walked away without a scratch.

I'm not sure an enclosed cockpit would do much to stop a suspension arm or wheel flying into it at those speeds either.
 
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