Have Your Say: Formula One 'Halo' - Good, Bad or Just Ugly?

[el chasco]

Just because you think its ugly doesn´t make it pointless, in fact it´s not. Otherwise it wouldn´t be there.

Is pointless because nowadays, is very difficult to see a flying wheel, for example.

Jules Bianchi Crash? Unavoidable the consequences. With or without halo.

Massa spring: nothing.


And what happens, If the halo reflects the wheel to a Marshall or to the crowd?

I believe that the FIA has introduced this system as a method to wash its guilt in the 2014 Suzuka gp, rather than as a system that actually protects.

 

[ltcars]

Is pointless because nowadays, is very difficult to see a flying wheel, for example.

Jules Bianchi Crash? Unavoidable the consequences. With or without halo.

Massa spring: nothing.


And what happens, If the halo reflects the wheel to a Marshall or to the crowd?

I believe that the FIA has introduced this system as a method to wash its guilt in the 2014 Suzuka gp, rather than as a system that actually protects.

If a wheel has enough velocity that it reflects from the Halo and threatens the health of persons outside it would have killed the driver easily without the Halo

 

[IMrIMike]

Is pointless because nowadays, is very difficult to see a flying wheel, for example.

Jules Bianchi Crash? Unavoidable the consequences. With or without halo.

Massa spring: nothing.


And what happens, If the halo reflects the wheel to a Marshall or to the crowd?

I believe that the FIA has introduced this system as a method to wash its guilt in the 2014 Suzuka gp, rather than as a system that actually protects.

Funny you didn´t mention Justin Wilson. Or all the other examples provided by the FIA. It´s rare these accidents happen, but that doesn´t make protection against these very incidents pointless.

 

[Bernd Graf]

I mean, what can be said? Bianchi's family made a big complaint, F1 finally caved. 2017 was the last season I'll be watching.

I sympathize on the issue of losing a child...but the Halo, really? That can't be the best solution for open-wheel racing. The FIA clearly doesn't want to slow the cars down...that would assuredly save drivers, far moreso than a Halo. But the FIA want the speeds to increase...wider tyres, better aero...so we're left with this "interesting" solution for head protection. IndyCar's solution is much more appropriate and sensible.

 

[Allan Ramsbottom]

what killed Senna was the steering arm piecing his helmet

I thought it was the right wheel and suspension strut that hit Senna in the face so maybe a "halo" in place could deflect such things..Anything to do with safety is good imo,we are just going on asthetics..

 

[Enpassant]

F1 is chasing its tail. It is like with to short blanket. They dream about safety from hit by the big object and made the obstacle, which makes dangerous dead zone in the field of view. In the distance of 100 meters this dead zone overlies about 2 meters of width of the racetrack. This distance F1 car travels in oabout 1 second! If something bad happens in this dead zone the driver have no chance to react. I like the look but it is not about the look.

 

[dud]

I thought it was the right wheel and suspension strut that hit Senna in the face so maybe a "halo" in place could deflect such things..Anything to do with safety is good imo,we are just going on asthetics..

No, Senna was pierced through the helmet's visor. The halo would not have helped.

 

[dud]

I get the flying wheel concern. But F1 demands that the wheel bearings are tied with 3 ropes per wheel, and that seems to be working as far as crashes are concerned. I can't recall the last time a F1 crash had a wheel running off with high energy.

Improperly mounted wheels might be a different matter. For example the Ferrari Challenge portion of Daytona had a wheel come loose. But those wheels tend to move forward near the ground. Much less risk to make it over a fence or hit a driver from the front.

I still don't see any hard data on the halo. Those numbers floating around are just the requirements for the teams' mount points, not the halo itself.

Regarding Bianchi, while I greatly respect the endurance of well made carbon fiber composites I cannot see that this halo could have withstood a direct, rigid impact of the entire car's weight driving it under a heavy vehicle's edge. It might have helped with survival by removing energy or by creating a mechanical obstacle with a software edge for the helmet to hit. Overall I'd say 50/50 at best.

In summary I would like F1 to demonstrate that the halo could have withstood the Bianchi crash, or leaves the helmet on the test dummy in much better shape. As long as they don't do that I feel uncomfortable that the visual impact on individual drivers could lead to additional crashes in the first place.

 

[bsmooth]

Its interesting how concerns for safety have happened, usually after a series of similar accidents happen, or one horrific accident. then something is done. So now we have the ring or halo if you will of safety. that is until something happens and again it is deemed not safe.
When in fact its just good enough for now. Its like running out of something and waiting till its all gone, then deciding its time to get more. So we wait until someone does and then we make things better... for now.
Basically its a Band-Aid. At the same time If you want to race in open cockpit cars there are going to be risks, along those same lines If you want to race at all there are risks. Certain things can be done to minimize them, but they will never all be gone.
Talking about safety in vehicles, how come School Buses don't have safety belts in them? These are children, yet no safety belts....still. Until some tragedy happens, and then maybe just maybe someone will think about it.

 

[Daniel Pettit]

I agree that the screen seemed to be abandoned too quickly. My biggest issue though is the teams attitude and the bleating about the importance of asthestics in f1. If this thing gave them a performance boost they wouldn't be able to put it on fast enough!

 

[Patrick van der Meulen]

I still don't see any hard data on the halo. Those numbers floating around are just the requirements for the teams' mount points, not the halo itself.

All I know is that all halo’s are made by a Dutch company called Nedschroef. To me it looks like it indirectly implies standard dimensions. I think it must be described in the technical regulations for 2018 what the required minimum force it should withstand.

But to me the halo has got kind alike VW diesel emission testing fumes (pun intended) around it. In theory it’s a superhero lifesaver, but in reality it could be easily the other way around. There are literally to many (loop)holes and loose ends. Which makes it a typical policor solution imho.

They want to pretend to make it more safe. But if they really would take drastic safety measures, FIA should make it a drone like setting where drivers are racing in the safety of a bunker and the cars are on the tracks. And then it’s only a small step to make it a complete simulated sport. And why not RaceDepartment as sanctioning body when it goes fully virtual?

 

[Enpassant]

What is wrong in this solution?

 

[Enpassant]

And short view to a this discussion

 

[polle989]

What If smaller parts like that spring which hit massas head in hungary 2009 got flipped onto the drivers body? Because of hitting the halo in a bad angle.

 

[Vangelis Parginos]

No competition, no risk, no girls....
Not F1.

DTM is more exciting

 

[Fanapryde]

Funny you didn´t mention Justin Wilson. Or all the other examples provided by the FIA. It´s rare these accidents happen, but that doesn´t make protection against these very incidents pointless.

And Billy Monger ? Would the halo have saved him ?
All this policor stuff is rubbish. Racing is dangerous and carries risks. All racers know that and take it into account.
What about Moto GP ? Think that is safe ?

 

[Edivad82]

And Maria De Villota crash? Halo would have avoided the damage that led to her death?
Yes? No? Maybe? We'll never know. Ok, extreme event. But there was.

 

[Edivad82]

And Billy Monger ? Would the halo have saved him ?
All this policor stuff is rubbish. Racing is dangerous and carries risks. All racers know that and take it into account.
What about Moto GP ? Think that is safe ?

Billy Monger is a different situation. As Zanardi's crash. In a "soft crashes", for example the Panis incidents at Montreal 1997 or Schumacher at Silverstone 1999. They have nothing to do with Halo. Head has not been hit.

 

[Edivad82]

Schumacher-Liuzzi, Abu Dhabi 2010

 

[Fanapryde]

Billy Monger is a different situation. As Zanardi's crash. In a "soft crashes", for example the Panis incidents at Montreal 1997 or Schumacher at Silverstone 1999. They have nothing to do with Halo. Head has not been hit.

It's all about "safety" right ? While the halo may or may not help prevent injuries, there is still A LOT of work to be done. My point (as I wrote in my previous post) is that racing can be dangerous.
Halo would not have helped Lauda either.
Lets have them all move to sim racing, problem solved.