F1’s Halo Cockpit Protector Just Debuted At Winter Testing
Following a recent meeting of the Strategy Group and F1 Commission, the FIA said it “intends” to bring in cockpit protection to Formula 1 for the 2017 season. A number of designs have been tested, but we’ve not seen any out on track. Until now.
Kimi Raikkonen surprised many by emerging from his Ferrari garage on day three of the second winter F1 test in Spain with a ‘halo’ cockpit protector on his new SF16-H.
Cockpit safety has been a talking point in F1 for some time now. It’s no new subject matter, but research was accelerated and plans to bring something in were brought forward after the tragic deaths of F1 driver Jules Bianchi (from injuries sustained in a terrible Japanese GP crash in 2014) and IndyCar racer Justin Wilson last year.
The ‘halo’ design concept is the preferred option by many - including the FIA - at the moment. Raikkonen completed one installation lap with the bizarre-looking device before returning to the pits.
The protector features three pillars, one in front of the driver and two to the side which wrap around the helmet and cockpit area. It’s certainly a weird looking piece of kit, but is the visual aesthetic of the device more important than driver safety? I’m not so sure.
Raikkonen completed his lap with the ‘halo’ prototype on the penultimate day of the second and final winter test, ahead of the 2016 season opener in Australia on 20 March.
What do you think of the cockpit protection device? Let us know below!
Comments
My principal doubt since I’ve seen the Mercedes rendering, is what happens if a small enough object goes directly into one of the front holes, and hit the helmet, as happened with Massa in 2009
Why don’t the do an enclosed cockpit like the top fuel dragsters do?
And the experts said that this thing wouldnt of saved bianchi. Nothing will hold up on a impact at 300+kmh
Honestly, I feel like there is only so much you can do for safety in motorsport. It is, at its core, an inherently dangerous activity. I do agree that racecars need to be safe, but I also feel like freak accidents are always going to happen, no matter what safety equipment there is.
I agree but at the same time safety needs to be the number one priority. We saw what happens with Group B and late 90s, early 2000s nascar and f1 when safety takes a backseat to speed and winning. Usually when there is a death in racing, it accelerates the want and need to increase driver safety.
I think we definitely need to see pics of what it looks like from the perspective of the driver - pretty sure no one would have approved this if it was going to cause more accidents…
In an ideal world it’ll be as revolutionary for safety in F1 as the HANS device was
The fia said this was unsafe and obstructed the drivers visibility… How is the halo any better
Kimi said visibility wasn’t affected
It fails to download the article images on my mobile :( the comment section images are fine, but they don’t appear in the article
It’s going to make it impossible to see the actual drivers and see who it is we’re watching. Also, how easy is it for them to get in and out of it? Car fires spring to mind where speed is key when getting out.
They claim to have designed it with driver extraction in mind, and that’s supposedly the reason they didn’t just go with a full-cover window.
mixed feelings but if ita good for the drivers then why not!! looks decent!!
yeah lets put a huge piece in front of the driver so he can’t see sh*t or get smashed in the face with it when it crashes … f1 logic