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

[DaVeX↯]

I think you guys know this vid already...
Comparing the solutions, even if not on video, Halo seems the more effective not against single object but against a fixed object...It acts more like a safety cell than a shield...

 

[Tbear]

The whale tail, once considered out of fashion by 2004, lives on in F1 at least - whoever allowed that must've been to too many strip clubs

Yep ... that halo is about as good looking as a Walmart label on a thong with a skid mark.

 

[Sky]

its in that awkward middle ground of not looking nice enough or practical enough.

 

[aka2k]

Now we just need the clothes to fit the theme:

 

[stbreaker]

I think you guys know this vid already...
Comparing the solutions, even if not on video, Halo seems the more effective not against single object but against a fixed object...It acts more like a safety cell than a shield...

Yeah, I think people saying that the FIA didn’t research the solutions are way off. Years of research have been dedicated to this and ultimately I think the halo had the best aggregate performance against large debris, small debris, and fixed (or nearly fixed) objects without having other potentially negative effects. The halo had at least a chance of helping Bianchi or de Villota whereas a screen would’ve just shattered if we believe that video (I do for what its worth). The canopy probably is the best of all In terms of protection in those situations, but there was probably concern about exiting the vehicle in a fire, general visibility, and the overall spirit of the sport.

 

[reynaldo luna jr]

Why is it dangerous?

Because it makes it hard to see what's in front of you. Notice the driver is leaning for a better view.

 

[Daggerman]

I used to race karts and I never took rib protectors or neck braces because they used to bother me when driving. I was fully aware I could get injured as a result, however I accepted those risks.

It seems like F1 wants to remove all risks from everything, which dare I say, is part of the appeal of the sport, from both drivers and fans alike.

 

[DaVeX↯]

Because it makes it hard to see what's in front of you. Notice the driver is leaning for a better view.

It is quite different now, shape has changed in order to give them better view...
The one you posted is an early model, similar to this

The actual one is like this

As you can see view is improved...and the driver on your pic is leaning his head looking for apex...so, even if I don't like it I find it a good solution for their safety...

 

[Kyle Dunning]

I might be the only one who likes it. It could've been way worse, they could've completely covered up the drivers and got rid of open car .. which I would have opposed. People would have complained about that way more than the halo. I just think people hate change, there's always going to be resistance to changes like this, even if it is meant to be done for safety reasons. There's been similar safety measures brought in in the past that had equal, if not more resistance, and nowadays we accept them without a second thought. I can't really see how anyone can judge its value til we've seen it in action.

Imagine this .. we go to Monaco and there's a big pile up in to the first corner. Debris flies everywhere. That's the perfect time to say .. ok, 1) it did the job and no one got hit by debris, or 2) it didn't do the job and is worthless of being on the cars. Screw what it looks like .. it could look like a pink, deformed elephant for all I care (and I got nothing against pink elephants!), as long as it does the job of protecting drivers heads. With more protection, it means cars can go even faster without risking anyone's life. In some cases the halo isn't going to help (like perhaps Bianchi's crash .. but we'll never know), but you could say that about every other form of safety measure for the drivers head. No method is flawless, no method is 100% safe, but that's how F1 has always been. That's how life is .. you can take ya baby to a ball pool, there's still a chance they're going to hurt themselves, a slim one, but there's always risk in everything we do.

I'm going to get a lot of DISAGREE's for this, but I'll rise above it because I can accept that life brings about change for a reason. I've learned that you can't judge something by how it looks, you have to see it in action. Judging something based on how it looks is how racism and sexism starts .. you really should get to know the person before you pass judgement, and the halo is the same. Ok .. it's not a person, but the function of it has yet to be put into real-life action. When we've had a few crashes and commentators point out on the video screen something like .. "Oh look at this! Debris was going to hit [insert name] in the head .. but you can clearly see it bounce off the halo! It's doing the job", then everyone will change their minds and accept the early 2000s thong look.

Embrace the upside down sandal as your ruler .. and just accept that this is happening, and the longer you cry and moan about it, the less time you have to .. you know, do things you actually enjoy, and spend time with people you care about. There's way worse things in the world to be upset over. It's a halo, it's a not the Black Plague coming to destroy everything that F1 is. It will become part of F1 .. an afterthought, by this time next year. I'm so confident in that statement, that I promise that no one is going to give a damn about the halo within a year .. after they've seen its benefits. Get over it .. and accept change. And if it does suck, if someone DIES with the halo attached, then I fully accept the fact that I'm wrong, everyone who worked on the halo was wrong, and we can get all the halos in a nice bonfire and say "yep, that halo thing? Never again". Have a good weekend everyone.

 

[Tarmac Terrorist]

Quick review, rubbish!

 

[shimon.ifraimov]

i really dont understand people that saying that its rubbish, who cares about the looks? its there to protect the driver.
if this was been designed earlier then maybe jules and other open wheel drivers will still be with us now!

 

[Kyle Dunning]

i really dont understand people that saying that its rubbish, who cares about the looks? its there to protect the driver.
if this was been designed earlier then maybe jules and other open wheel drivers will still be with us now!

A whole hospitals worth of wambulences have been called to the scene here. We've got a traffic jam of them. So quick to judge something they've yet to see in proper competition. These wambulences are fueled by people's tears, and the fuel tanks are not running out any time soon.

 

[larre90]

I have another question about that. When a wheel hits the halo, then what? Come to pit and change it, if it's damaged?

 

[Enpassant]

In the circumstances when every second is an era, obstacle just before the nose of the driver may cause something opposite to the safety. In one second on the fast straight, F1 car travels about 80 meters, halo in this distance blocks out view few meters width of the track. I thing there were no race on wet or heavy cloudy circumstances.

 

[larre90]

But tbh, for rainaffected races, the halo is better then the shield.

 

[DaVeX↯]

Oh, as side note...halo as been reported to be usefull for "danger escapes", you can both remove it or grab the halo with your hands and lift up yourself out of the car...

 

[Motowntom]

Who cares, no one in the US that's for sure... quit watching this politically correct parade of cars in 05" Won't be going back, WEC, Indycar, and F3 are all available online and guess what? They actually race each other! What a concept!. F1 is garbage no matter what the cars look like. How can you call a series a racing series when there is no racing. Boring, Boring, Boring.
Cheers

 

[Alex Marlboro]

The best thing would be that they remove the wheels so it would be "completely safe"

 

[asteroulis]

Bezels back in fashion..

 

[gamer19]

When high-profile drivers say it interferes with their vision it is bad

I thought they say it doesn't.

I just can't believe how quickly they ruled out the visor screen thing. It was at least a bit better looking.
Vettel does 5 mins and say no and that's it. end of test.

Agree.

Another thing... what if HALO stays somewhat bend under some heavy hit and actually block driver way out of the cockpit ? It wouldn't be nice view looking a driver struggling to escape from, say, burning car. But I'm sure FIA has already taken that under consider, right ?