What's Hideous, Weighs 15 Pounds and Can Support a London Bus? F1's New Halo

[Dotini]

If you love the halo on F1, you will jump for joy when you see it in the WEC!

WEC mandates Halo from 2019
Sunday, 01 April 2018
By Marshall Pruett

http://www.racer.com/more/racer-stuff/item/148409-wec-mandates-halo-from-2019

april fool

 

[Jimlaad43]

Sounds like we have our first driver who is happy to have been using the Halo
https://wtf1.com/post/this-f2-crash-shows-why-the-halo-is-definitely-a-good-thing/

 

[TenEightyOne]

So what's the deal with the halo thing over the cockpit of the car? looks kinda silly

Answered from the Driver Transfer thread (which obviously has nothing to do with the Halo). You should find all you need to know here

 

[TenEightyOne]

Thoughts? For those who didn't see the race this is the halo on LeClerc's Sauber after Alonso rudely landed on top of him in the first turn at Spa.

 

[coryclifford]

after Alonso rudely landed on top of him in the first turn

As if it was his fault?

Helmets work, too. Might not of even hit his head.

 

[LumpiestFish]

Wouldn’t have hit Leclerc’s head, but his hands might’ve been in trouble with the halo.

The halo actually looks quite good on the F2 car. Flows much better with the body shape. Even on some of the F1 cars I don’t actually it looks that bad, to me the Red Bulls are the only one that doesn’t look good at all.

 

[TenEightyOne]

As if it was his fault?

Do you think so? I'd say it definitely wasn't Alonso's fault

Helmets work, too. Might not of even hit his head.

They're good for heads but pretty useless at stopping broken necks. HANS only has so much tolerance too.

Wouldn’t have hit Leclerc’s head

I'm not so sure, but fortunately we'll never know.

 

[coryclifford]

It was clearly Hulk's fault to start the chain reaction on that side of the track.

Someone else messed up on the other side. I can't remember who.

Their heads sit so tucked in, and the angle of impact, seems like it would have missed his helmet entirely

 

[GTFraker]

The mental gymnastics some people go through just to ignore the fact that something they didn't like cause of aesthetic reasons fulfilled its pragmatic purpose is incredible.

 

[Aphelion]

The mental gymnastics some people go through just to ignore the fact that something they didn't like cause of aesthetic reasons fulfilled its pragmatic purpose is incredible.

I cant tell wether I should laugh at people or cry. Its just so hilarously upsetting to me.

As if it was his fault?

It... it was a joke dude...

 

[Slapped]

Thoughts? For those who didn't see the race this is the halo on LeClerc's Sauber after Alonso rudely landed on top of him in the first turn at Spa.

Thoughts? Yeah - the halo was a damned good idea, it appears to be implemented well, and although we'll never know for sure it definitely looks like it potentially prevented a serious injury here.

So, shame on all of those selfish people who complained about it purely on aesthetic grounds.

 

[crooky369]

Too soon to say if Halo saved Leclerc from serious injury – Whiting

https://www.racefans.net/2018/08/26...lo-saved-leclerc-from-serious-injury-whiting/

Will be interesting to see if it did definitely save Leclerc from injury.

 

[adb]

Not so hideous now huh

 

[Northstar]

Not so hideous now huh

Just because it worked doesn't mean it suddenly doesn't look terrible.

 

[TheElbows]

I'll be honest, from watching the crash I don't know that the HALO did that much in this instance. From the angle he skipped off the airbox/nose of the car and only contacted the HALO because it was there. I think this demonstrates the intent, but don't think it applied much in this crash from the few times I watched it. We've seen plenty of cars skipping over eachother and I don't think I've ever seen a driver impacted in the past few years. I don't think this was much different from those.

Most important thing they'll get from this is simply if the HALO survived. If it's 90% broken and about to collapse, that'll be another issue - hence why Whiting is obviously waiting on much smarter people than us to determine how it handled the hit.

 

[adb]

Just because it worked doesn't mean it suddenly doesn't look terrible.

I think now that it worked, people should stop complaining about looks and appreciate it

 

[Famine]

From the angle he skipped off the airbox/nose of the car and only contacted the HALO because it was there. I think this demonstrates the intent, but don't think it applied much in this crash from the few times I watched it. We've seen plenty of cars skipping over eachother and I don't think I've ever seen a driver impacted in the past few years. I don't think this was much different from those.

Look a little more closely. It's not the chassis that strikes the halo. Here follows a series of images:

You should see at this point that Alonso's car is rotating clockwise, as LeClerc is turning to the right. Keep an eye on that front-right tyre:

... as it's heading straight for LeClerc's helmet ...

... until it impacts the halo, which stops Alonso's car rotating:

From the inside of the corner you can see Alonso's front wheels are both attached and the steering and suspension is just fine (they haven't hit anything yet):

Until that front-right contacts the halo:

From that inside-corner angle it looks like Alonso and LeClerc are going in the same direction at the same speed (actually it looks like Alonso is going quicker, but check out LeClerc's front wing overtaking the Red Bull there), but you can see the force of halo/wheel impact as it instantly shatters the suspension assembly. It's down to the rotation of both cars - Alonso is rotating clockwise due to the impact from Hulkenberg, while LeClerc is rotating clockwise due to turning the corner and the impact from Alonso. That brings the front-right of Alonso's car into the path of LeClerc's helmet.

We won't know if the wheel would have hit the helmet, because the halo prevented that. It looks like it would have been bloody close, and the tyre marks up the chassis and the halo along with the fact it shattered Alonso's suspension on that corner more than indicate the strength of the contact. Not something you want being bloody close.

The fact that it more than likely worked in this instance isn't related to the opinion that it is a damned ugly solution. It should be (and will be) a data point on how to improve it - and hopefully find another solution that's not only at least as successful at preventing driver head injuries, but a bit more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Slapped]

The fact that it more than likely worked in this instance isn't related to the opinion that it is a damned ugly solution. It should be (and will be) a data point on how to improve it - and hopefully find another solution that's not only at least as successful at preventing driver head injuries, but a bit more aesthetically pleasing.

Form always follows function, or at least it should for anything that's well designed. The halo could have the aesthetic qualities of the back end of a bus for all I care (I personally think it looks OK) as long as it's doing it's job well and saving drivers lives.

Good sequence of photos, and I agree that very much that without the halo LeClerc's head was going to have a real close view of Alonsos front right.

 

[Pupik]

1961: I hope those ugly and pointless rollover bars go away one day.

 

[Famine]

The on-board from Brendon Hartley is slightly more alarming.



Had the halo not arrested the spinning car, the tyre might not have entered the cockpit, but if it hadn't the front wing sure as hell would have...

 

[spacecowboy73]

The on-board from Brendon Hartley is slightly more alarming.

Had the halo not arrested the spinning car, the tyre might not have entered the cockpit, but if it hadn't the front wing sure as hell would have...

Yeah, this is the view that made me realize if the Halo hadn't been there LeClerc could have been in some trouble.

 

[JohnBM01]

I been thinking a lot about the halo the past few months. Sometimes, you eventually get used to certain things or think about things in different ways as time passes.

In the past, I debated out the dead-center view of drivers with the halo. I then thought about things like the fact I wear glasses. You don't see the actual connecting pieces in the center when you look through them. The same is almost like with the halo. So in a way, I am becoming less judgmental and critical regarding the dead-center view of drivers with the halo these days. How can you be judgmental of something you barely notice?

On a different note, I do kind of like how broadcasting deals are using the halo for different onboard effects and stuff, like telemetry. Even other styles of formula cars are using the halo. So the trickle-down effect comes into play for a lot of other formula series outside of Formula 1.

 

[MaxAttack]

ferraris and red bull domination werent that bad . 2000 2003 2010 2012 were quite close seasons and ferrari fought hard in 1997 1998 1999 . red bull only won 50% of the races and ferrari 60% in their domination years . mercs won 85% they really ruin this sport with this crap engines , halos and merc domination

Are we really still complaining about the bloody halo? We've literally seen it prevent potentially fatal/serious injuries multiple times already. Please take this dumb take back to 2015.

 

[Frank McGank]

Are we really still complaining about the bloody halo? We've literally seen it prevent potentially fatal/serious injuries multiple times already. Please take this dumb take back to 2015.

70 years of F1 history and MAYBE 3 drivers die/suffer injuries that the halo would’ve prevented. 3 years of the halo being used and suddenly every other race has an incident that “would’ve been much worse without the halo”
I think some people are a little desperate in trying to justify its existence.

 

[daan]

70 years of F1 history and MAYBE 3 drivers die/suffer injuries that the halo would’ve prevented. 3 years of the halo being used and suddenly every other race has an incident that “would’ve been much worse without the halo”
I think some people are a little desperate in trying to justify its existence.

I can name you at least 6 people from this list of F1 fatalities that a halo would have saved, or at least helped.

I suppose you were annoyed when they started wearing helmets as it meant you couldn't see their heroic faces.

 

[Jimlaad43]

70 years of F1 history and MAYBE 3 drivers die/suffer injuries that the halo would’ve prevented. 3 years of the halo being used and suddenly every other race has an incident that “would’ve been much worse without the halo”
I think some people are a little desperate in trying to justify its existence.

1 life saved is enough justification for anything. Aesthetics is never a justification for removing a life-saving device, as the looks is the only downside to the Halo.

 

[MaxAttack]

1 life saved is enough justification for anything. Aesthetics is never a justification for removing a life-saving device, as the looks is the only downside to the Halo.

I never even understood what looks so bad about it. It doesn't stick out or trail into nothingness aesthetically, unlike any number of hideous aero parts from down the years we could point to.

I'm not actually sure who's responsible for the halo from the engineering side, but they deserve huge props imo for integrating such a large safety feature onto such precisely engineered machines.

 

[Frank McGank]

1 life saved is enough justification for anything. Aesthetics is never a justification for removing a life-saving device, as the looks is the only downside to the Halo.

1 life? Alright, ban on-track racing altogether. Make all motor racing esports-only, with all the drivers on sims. 100% safe, that way. If we MUST keep the IRL stuff, replace the drivers with AI. Safety is the most important thing, after all.

I can name you at least 6 people from this list of F1 fatalities that a halo would have saved, or at least helped.

I suppose you were annoyed when they started wearing helmets as it meant you couldn't see their heroic faces.

I take it you’ve never seen motorcycle racing before? The actual facts are drivers are more likely to die driving to the circuit than they are racinf on it. YOU are more likely to die on your way to work than during a motor racing event. It’s not the 1970s anymore, racing drivers aren’t dropping like flies every season.

 

[Bram Turismo]

To be honest, you don't even notice the HALO all that much when they are painted black.

 

[Jimlaad43]

1 life? Alright, ban on-track racing altogether. Make all motor racing esports-only, with all the drivers on sims. 100% safe, that way. If we MUST keep the IRL stuff, replace the drivers with AI. Safety is the most important thing, after all.


I take it you’ve never seen motorcycle racing before? The actual facts are drivers are more likely to die driving to the circuit than they are racinf on it. YOU are more likely to die on your way to work than during a motor racing event. It’s not the 1970s anymore, racing drivers aren’t dropping like flies every season.

Congratulations, you've just won the prize of "not worth listening to anymore"