wrx300scooby

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/35723675

Personally I don't agree with Hamilton, I think if it saves just one life I don't care how ugly it is. What do others on here think?

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

it would at least put Jules Bianci`s family out of a years misery, it would have finished him off he had one fitted when he hit that crane thing,

Young Surtees and Mr Wilson were in a totally different category, and have still not adapted it . . .

If you think it is too dangerous , don`t do it,

Next they will have to race the isle of man TT in cars as bikes arent safe enough.

Paben

iTrader: (5)

It's certainly ungainly and not in keeping with the tightly controlled lines of the rest of the car. And the claim that the centre pillar is invisible because of binocular vision may apply when looking straight ahead, but what about when taking tight bends and chicanes? Then one eye or the other must be looking right at it not around it.
This might be an inconvenience rather than a fatal flaw, and is definitley an improvement over a face full of debris. But it's not ideal so probably more work needs to be done on the design.

neil-h

It's entirely pointless and has the distinct feeling of the engineers taking the **** because they were told they had to do something (so they did the daftest thing possible). The way I see it the Halo device will only stop a very specific (and very narrow) range of injuries. If F1 was really serious about it they'd have gone down the route of proper cockpit canopies.

The Pink Ninja

iTrader: (23)

Have they tested it on an upturned car with flames coming out of it as looks a little restrictive to me especially when you're trying to get out in a hurry!!

Paben

iTrader: (5)

Good point but they might have a problem finding a volunteer to try it out!

neil-h

Not this again it keeps coming up when they talk about closed cockpits too and it's a none issue. When was the last time someone burnt alive because they couldn't get out of an overturned LMP car?

The Pink Ninja

iTrader: (23)

^^there's a volunteer,

I don't think its a case of being burned alive, being stuck in a car that's on fire with restrictive access is bad enough IMO...so you wouldn't see that as an issue or concern then?

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I reserved judgement until I saw the driver's eye view





That's bad, this is from someone who is annoyed and almost been involved in accidents due to the excessive thickness of A-pillars on modern cars obscuring the view. This halo is s p**s take for safety as it obsures the vision on a racecar which is already full of blind spots (as Grosjean and Maldonado often find out)and razor sharp debris can still get through it.

neil-h

Nope it's not a concern 'cus you wouldn't get stuck. Take a look at the height difference between the halo and the top of the roll structure (Air box). There's plenty of space there. Besides, the drivers all wear fire resistant suits so they can spend a surprising amount of time in a burning car.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Oh, and in terms of Jules Bianchi.....

His death would have been avoided if all non-race vehicles and equipment on the track were of such a design that a F1 car couldn't just go underneath it leaving the driver's head prone to severe injury. Maria de Villota was also severely injured (of which complication from that injury eventually caused her death) when the F1 car she was maneuvering went underneath the rear of a truck.

A simple bumper-style barrier around the front loader ...much like you see surrounding a indoor-kart would have saved Jule's life.

Additionally I'd question the use of these style of front loaders used for race car recovery as being unsuitable for track-side recovery without a safety car present. But regardless, bumpers preventing a race car from running underneath it would be a life-saver and should be implemented regardless of Halo. All support vehicles that are operated in the vicinity of a f1 car should have a device (bumper/barrier) positioned at the same level of a f1 car's chassis to prevent it under-riding in a collision...is that common sense...or not? Its not even difficult to make or fit (ask any welder/fabricator).

dpb

Will it produce more overtaking maneuvers / make it worth watching ?

Paben

iTrader: (5)

Pretty unlikely. The majority of overtaking occurs when the fast cars catch the slow ones and then they are obliged to 'step aside'. Many F1 fans admire the technology as much as the racing, but the 2015 cars were barely faster than supposedly lesser categories but cost massively more.

Bring back big turbocharged engines that put the wind up the drivers and see what they are made of. In the current vehicles you almost expect them to drive one handed with an elbow sticking out.