Technical Can we talk about the Halo?

[Hamberg]

And that was Button's point, it's highly unlikely that's a life or death situation (needing to quickly extract from the car).
But flying fatal debris in the face is also a highly unlikely situation.

As a society we are in danger of paralysing ourselves by trying to eliminate every risk.

 

[Andyoak]

Not sure about your interpretation of Button's comments; but absolutely agree with your second paragraph.

 

[Hamberg]

Andyoak ive edited as from the 'but' were my views if that's where you what you were referring to.

 

[olegg]

Crash of Alonso prooved that "halo" could add trouble with security

 

[RasputinLives]

I think more Kimi's fire in his airbox in the pit showed when it might be an issue.

 

[cider_and_toast]

That's my point. There is far more on the car than a fuel tank that could cause a driver serious harm if he couldn't get out of the car in a hurry.

 

[gethinceri]

Crash of Alonso prooved that "halo" could add trouble with security

Incorrect, there is no proof of that.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

But surely the point of the (properly-designed) halo or front screen , rather than a closed cockpit, is that it won't impede exit from the car? Even when the car's upside-down how often do you see drivers exiting towards the front of the car? They're usually getting out sideways.

 

[Andyoak]

Both the Ferrari mock-up and Red Bull design sketch would impede escape front and side.

 

[KekeTheKing]

As far as I can tell, the FIA has tested just a single aspect of the Halo. "Will it save a driver who has a tire fired at his face from 5 feet away?"

Almost nothing is known of this device in actual practice and it needs to go the way of the "Elimination Quali" immediately.

If someone doesn't want to go open-wheel/open-cockpit racing then they should race tintops. Simple as that.

 

[FB]

I've mentioned it before, the structure they build around the driver on top fuel dragster should be a good starting point. Driver exit is from the front but protects from a tyre strike. The plexi glass protects from flying debris.

 

[KekeTheKing]

That is better in my opinion, but I still think that any of these devices intended for head protection will cause more harm in the long run by reducing the drivers' peripheral/frontal/overall vision.

 

[Titch]

Well judging by the qualifying fiasco, I foresee a similarly ill thought out halo launch.

 

[snowy]

Halo Launch...

 

[cider_and_toast]

The dragster design does look slightly better but there would have to be some serious work in the FIA crash testing offices to look at redesigning the cockpit surrounds to accommodate it. The biggest problem as I see it with the halo is that the design of the head protection area around the driver on a modern F1 car requires the driver to unclip two fixings and lift it up before exiting the car. This is the problem with fitting anything on top of that because you then restrict the amount of movement / space required by the driver to lift the head protection out of the way in an upturned car. The dragster design is not hampered by this as there is a clear opening for the driver to pull himself out of and get clear.

As for the windscreen area, the drivers could always try one of these:

A spinning visor that was supposed to throw the rain off and remain clear. It must have worked because Graham Hill used it on a number of occasions. I can't imagine it would have been very comfortable to wear though.

 

[The Pits]

And he has a strap in front of his face! That must have hampered visibility.

 

[Dartman]

I rather suspect he could see under it, Graham was well known for being able to cope with various distractions, the spinning disc is very effective however to be really effective the windscreen needs to be sealed or shielded from the spinning disc to stop water/crud ingress onto the visual part of the screen. used to be popular on ships, though wipers now seem to rule.

 

[Dartman]

Halos don't seem to be a great protection, many saints were killed, didn't help them, with F1's record it is unlikely any organisation in the industry would be able to improve on the originals and authorise it

 

[oli_f1_best_sport]

It wont change anything! The only thing it will lead to is that it will become more difficult to get out of the car (at an accident, when the car rolled, etc.)

 

[Greenlantern101]

I think Alonso commented after his crash that his only thoughts whilst crashing was trying to get his head lower in the car, as that is the only exposed part. Which isn't easy as the belts allow no movement.

--found it---

Asked if Halo would have prevented his speedy exit from the car, Alonso replied: "I don't know if I could get out of the car as quick as I did. I guess so, because I'm sure the system is designed to look at all the scenarios. But probably my only concern when I was rolling over was just to avoid hitting the head because I was very tight from the [seat]belts and flying.

"I didn't feel any risk at all in the middle of the accident apart from my head that I wanted not to crash with anything. The Halo was probably very welcome in my crash as well because I would avoid that concern while I'm flying."

------

Even if the halo prevents or slows down the exit from the car this isn't really an issue unless the car is actually on fire. Which almost never happens in a crash. Most fires are engine failures these days. Even if there was a fire in a crash the fire proof overalls protect them for a few minutes plus there is an extinguisher system in the cockpit.