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
Go to GT racing if you want safety arround your head!
Henry Surtees would be alive if his car had a Halo. I say it’s a minor aestethic impact in this form wich is just a prototype without paint but a huge leap for pilot safety. Do it!
“Any problem with the feature kimi?” “no…i think…”
Why not full glass halo. It would have looked way better
It’s called structural integrity. And glass wasn’t invited to that party.
That’s middle pillar is stupid how will the driver see what’s in front of him? Use glass instead
Just enclose the cockpit of the car. The halo looks ridiculous and is not going to protect the driver as well as a closed cockpit.
“I don’t care what kind of head protection the other drivers have” -Kimi Raikkonen
Here is a collection of some of the best tweets about the halo cockpit http://truesportrealtalk.com/2016/03/03/twitter-reaction-halo-cockpit-protection/
It looks awful
ugly af