F1: Frontal Head Protection Deferred to 2018

[kona076]

If they do offer any solution that resembles the halo or canopy I sincerely hope a new open wheel series is introduced to pick up where F1 will have swiftly ended. I know that's a strong statement, but I believe open wheel racing, and indeed F1, can continue to be made safer without having to alter the car or the experience we've all come to love about the sport.

 

[Leonardo Chaves]

Why don't we just race tanks? Pretty safe then eh?

I'm in favor of "danger" if it enhances the spectacle, there has to be a risk/reward calculation.
Risk for risk sake isn't very smart.

The faster 2017 spec cars will be more dangerous than the current cars, but they also can enhance the spectacle, that's a risk worth taking imo.

A well designed head protection wouldn't hurt the cars either visually nor in performance(at least for me personally), if it doesn't change anything for me as a viewer, doesn't make the cars slower/less exciting, while giving the driver further protection that's a win in my book.

 

[Ben Lee]

So will we see F3 and GP2 cars with the Halo too then?

It's not personally something I want to see in Motorsport. Racing is meant to be dangerous. I've done karting here in the UK, some tracks you have an 80mph exit with a tyre barrier to greet you if you were to spin off. Where is my 50 metre tarmac run off? Where is my, well, protection of any kind? There isn't any, because I choose to do it because I love the thrill. The drivers need to man up and grow a pair in my view. Danger is part of the sport, stop trying to sanitise it at every opportunity. They have already ruined a lot of the greatest tracks in the world, now they want to ruin the cars.

 

[samcar304]

Edit: I didnt really like what said here. Bit too morbid and my tired mind talking.

Anyway this my last say on the matter but it's good to have healthy debate with people you respect to get their points of view.

 

[Vangelis Parginos]

If we want closed cockpits we have prototypes and DTM.
F1 must stay F1 or whatever they left from it.
Change that and you lost all the excitement the sport has left. IMO
I dont think halo or what else could save Jules. And that was not a mistake of car safety, it was a mistake from the people at Suzuka.

After that we will change the motorbikes too?

 

[Riblo]

If we wanted F1 stays the way it should be go to assetto corsa, drive the maserati 250F and then return here... If you want to be true to the real F1 you should want to take off that horrible wings that ruins the pure spirit of the REAL F1...

Motorsport should be the evolution of the car, not the keeping of anachronistic traditions...
F1 with cockpit can happen and this is not the problem why F1 is losing interest on the audience... Problems for F1 lies elsewhere, mainly in the people that write the idiotic rules F1 is trapped inside now...
However that thing is UGLY and that boom on the front of the driver is totally crazy... i like better the windscreen on that redbull for sure... but i would like even better a fully closed cockpit like in the redbull fantasy prototype from GT game...

 

[Ben Lee]

Recently in an interview, Mark Webber said when referring to track safety that they had "gone too far, in a few areas". What does that tell you?

One interesting moment when the Monza Parabolica was tarmacced over, was when a number of the GP2 drivers just posted a pic of the run off with a caption of "Why?".

 

[Ole Andreasen]

Guess you cannot start a discussion about head protection, without it turning out to a tad more - which is fair enough in my opinion.
My first F1 fatality was Ronnie Peterson on Monza back in 1978, and that shook me up pretty badly. Since then, I have been in favour of safety for drivers. I have seen quite a few race drivers killed since Ronnie, and hate every one of them. This is of course always a balance between safety and killing the race. No you cannot have the guys drive tanks, but if you look at what´s happened over the years, in the safety department - I think that´s a very good thing.

I think racing should be about getting to the finish line fastest, but that it is meant to be dangerous - that I deeply oppose.

I saw the Indycar race where Justin Wilson was hit in the head with debris from Sage Karams car, crashing up ahead. I have no idea, and the video footage dosen´t show, if the Halo would have saved Wilson, but from the size of the debris, I believe that it might.

SO - I voted "Yes" to the poll above, and seemingly different from the majority here, I actually like the Halos. Make the cars look a bit insectile and mean... The full canopies though... no, that´s starting to slide onto the wrong side of the line, in my view.

 

[Caramidaru Andrei Bogdan]

****K no, F1 is bad enough recently. Like others said before me, drivers choose to do this so get some balls and shut up.

 

[Riblo]

****K no, F1 is bad enough recently. Like others said before me, drivers choose to do this so get some balls and shut up.

F1 is not bad for a canopy or not... the F1 is bad because of the idiots that has the power now...
If we had enclosed cockpits on the F1 of 80/90 era with Piquet, Lauda, Mansell, Senna and Prost fighting for the championship do you thing it would be bad? I don't think so...
If we had enclosed cockpits back then Senna would be alive probably...
Jackie Stewart said "Motorsport is dangerous, but we shouldn't have to die to prove it" and this are the wisest words about the question

IMHO people that accept unnecessary danger in races are like the romans going to Coliseum to see people get killed... They hope deep inside them to see someone die in the race...

 

[Tim Ling]

Do you really think the drivers of these cars don't have huge stainless steel testicles? Just because we can drive virtual copies of these cars around virtual tracks doesn't mean we have any idea of the sheer force of will it takes to keep your foot to the floor while sweeping through Eau Rogue or diving into the Parabolica at 150 mph.
F1 is never going to be "safe", but adding head protection will make it safer and reduce the risk of a driver dying.
Yes, racing motorcyclists drive at similar speeds to F1, but they still minimise the risk of injury and by wearing the best protective gear they can. The same when we go go-karting, we wear the overalls and helmet to minimise the risk. All the safety updates F1 has been through, especially since '94, have been to minimise the risk of losing another driver. And it's worked.
Yes, the halo is damned ugly, and for me at least, not really suitable for purpose. The screen is better, but will be harder to integrate into the car design. I'm sure there are other issues too, but if head protection saves 1 drivers life, it's worth it.

 

[Helmut Skrdla]

Canopy or leave it. Ugly-half solutions are not.

 

[SteffenLS]

Canopy or leave it. Ugly-half solutions are not.

+1

 

[Paul McCluskey]

Yes, but not the halo is my take.

The right thing would be a full canopy, half measures are stupid.

then fit windscreen wipers I suppose for when it rains?

 

[formidable]

The F1 it doesn't need this,

 

[Grand Tourist]

I'm not torn on this one at all. F1 should not be made any safer in my opinion. Its safe enough compared to 20 years ago and some risk should be always present. If they don't want to risk it, then don't do it. Do athletics instead.
Real road racing (TT, North West 200, Ulster GP etc) is extremely dangerous, probably the most dangerous in the world. But what if the do-gooder safety nobs get their hands on that? A sport ruined.
We must stop sanitising motor sports. We have done enough. Leave it alone. Risk is all part of of it.
F1 cars need open cockpits or they are no longer F1 cars in my opinion.

I do Motorcycle track days at various UK circuits. I have had a few off's and ended up in various hospitals. Can you imagine my horror if some do-gooder, health and safety goon came and said no more track days because it's too dangerous? Live your life and risk it when you can. That is life.
If these over paid prima donna's don't want to risk it, there will be plenty of other young guys willing to step into their shoe's.
And before any one gets on my case let me tell you something, I have served in the military for 23 years and done 2 gulf wars and a Bosnia tour. I have ridden fast race mororcycles for 20 years too. I have risked my life doing silly adventure sports from cliff diving to motocross. Can I ask what life would be like if we stopped all that?

ps, I'm suffering now with arthritus in many joints but guess what, it was worth it.........

I meant the Wow icon as respect for your life path. Impressive. I voted for the halo, preferrably the RB one, simply because of esthetic value. I love it, can't help it. But you are right a dangerous sport like this should be exclusive .

 

[Helmut Skrdla]

then fit windscreen wipers I suppose for when it rains?

F-16s don't have windscreen wipers. A good canopy based on fighter-jet designs (maybe even exsisting molds or production lines could be used) will clear itself very well. The Red Bull "Halfopy" also doesn't have wipers...

Seems easy enough to me. Front-hinged (again, like an F-16) so it will stay closed just from aero pressure. Lock lever above the driver's head, and also accessible from outside. Explosive bolts on the front hinge to release it in case of any heavy deformation.
Only reason I could see why this isn't possible might be that it would be too heavy for manual opening and closing. A F-16 canopy has 250 pounds. Even 100 pounds would be very hard to regularly open and close for a single person.

Maybe that is the reason they are looking at open-top solutions but damn, that "Halo" is ugly...

Also mostly it appears to be a solution for a non-existing problem. It likely wouldn't have saved Jules (the impact broke the overhead roll bar), it won't stop a flying spring or other "smallish" part. So what does it do, catch a tire... or maybe dive the car under another instead of decapitating the driver, but those are thankfully very rare circumstances.

 

[Storm Rider]

I am torn on this one. Its a hard call.

I am totally against the idea of closed cockpit cars, F1 is and always should be an open wheel series. Seeing a driver out in the open is part of the very essence of the Formula One business. However due to such advances in safety the head is by far and away the most exposed and therefore vulnerable part of the driver nowadays. So is it irresponsible to allow no further consideration to doing something to address this issue? Or are we over sanitising the sport and trying to make safe a sport that is, by its very nature, fundamentally dangerous?

Man its a hard call! Actually its that hard, I've not voted.....

One thing I know for sure, I do not like the look of those halo devices!

One day we´ll look back and think that open head was just as wreckless as the no helmets of 50s. Also, open wheel doesn´t mean open head!

 

[Will Mazeo]

I'm in favor of "danger" if it enhances the spectacle, there has to be a risk/reward calculation.
Risk for risk sake isn't very smart.

The faster 2017 spec cars will be more dangerous than the current cars, but they also can enhance the spectacle, that's a risk worth taking imo.

A well designed head protection wouldn't hurt the cars either visually nor in performance(at least for me personally), if it doesn't change anything for me as a viewer, doesn't make the cars slower/less exciting, while giving the driver further protection that's a win in my book.

if they want to enhance the spectacle they should focus less on aero and more on mechanical grip (would be a bit less dangerous with slower speeds on corners), the 2017 cars is exactly the opposite.

 

[Alex72]

Damn, i think its sometimes hard to see with the antennas. Cant imagine with even more stuff. If you focus wrongly with your eyes after many laps when you start getting tired it could be disaster. The protective screen looks better than the frame since it doesnt block anything forward. Seems you do lose some vision to the sides though?

Being safe is important. But maybe with more sense of safety you can get two things. One is that the drivers can go a little faster knowing they are safer. The other is that maybe they will do more mistakes from bad decisions since they feel safe. Or maybe there wont be any difference. Never driven a F1 car so i dont really know. Im sure they want to feel safe though.

Do they get lower salaries with these installed?