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

Rossell2
I admit that my concerns were less of the "we don't need this" more of a "will this do what it needs to do?" on the halo.

The answer is "Definitely". I think the great halo debate can now rest.
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Yeah agreed. What we saw full demonstrates it’s effectiveness to those who were doubting it. I’ll still never understand people who hate it for looks or because it takes away from the spirit of F1 because somehow dead drivers are a better option than subjectively hurting the looks of a car. :rolleyes:
 
Not that it's really needed, we've all seen the past incidents without it and the gruesome results, but someone on Reddit rendered what appears to have happened with the Halo splitting the barrier open.

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Maybe F1 should go full on Indy. Would the glass shield have helped protect from the flames? Just for a few more moments.
 
05XR8
Maybe F1 should go full on Indy. Would the glass shield have helped protect from the flames? Just for a few more moments.
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Flames? Debatable. When the car split in two, the fuel tanks instantly ruptured and all of its contents went all over the place. I'm admittedly pulling this out of my butt, but since the glass shield covers more "area" than the halo, it's just as likely that fuel could've gotten on the glass and made it even harder for RoGro to climb out of the car the way he did.

That being said, I have doubts that Indycar's glass shield would have forced open the steel rails like the Halo did while also A) Maintaining structural integrity and B) not causing potential harm to the driver.
 
NotThePrez
That being said, I have doubts that Indycar's glass shield would have forced open the steel rails like the Halo did while also A) Maintaining structural integrity and B) not causing potential harm to the driver.
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I don't see why it wouldn't have similar performance considering it's basically a halo wrapped in polycarbonate.

 
I think a closed cockpit would have been disastrous in Grosjean's crash. You need that space above the cockpit to get out quickly.

Something to be concerned about is, what would happen if he was unconscious? The medics/marshals would have to put the fire out first, or go into the flames to unbuckle his harness and pull him out of that small space between the halo and hot guardrail. It was extremely fortunate that he was able to get out by himself. Note that he opted to grab onto the hot guardrail to haul himself up, instead of grabbing the halo. I thought that was interesting. The guardrail made the space above the cockpit smaller to get out of, and also provided a means for escape.

Of course without the halo his head would have hit the guardrail and he wouldn't be able to get out of the car, as he would be dead.
 
Grand Prix
Note that he opted to grab onto the hot guardrail to haul himself up, instead of grabbing the halo. I thought that was interesting. The guardrail made the space above the cockpit smaller to get out of, and also provided a means for escape.
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He might have been dazed/shocked/panicked and grabbed the first thing he felt could get him out of there. Survival instinct is far greater than any training out there.
 
The thing that bothers me so much is that this isn't even one of those accidents that you say this would have ended badly 20, 30 years ago but we have come so far. This would have ended very differently 3 years ago.

Going from not being sure if the Halo was necessary, to wondering why extra head protection took so long, with the sport being open cockpit for its whole existence. This single issue has basically guaranteed that under specific, but not improbable circumstances that a driver could meet his demise.
 
JockeP22
Why not replace the halos with little kids instead.
Strap a kid onto the front wing and let them protect the drivers
from oncoming debris. They're already taking over the umbrella
duties from the grid girls, protecting the drivers from the sun.
Kids can do anything these days.

Replace Charlie Whiting with a seven-year old while you're at it
and let kids handle the press conferences, too. If kids can successfully
work iPads and computers at age 3-4, they can certainly run F1 better
than the old fossils currently performing the task. Get with the times.
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Oh my! Funniest post I read here in ages... 100% politically incorrect!
How come you weren't banned for it? :lol:
 
TenEightyOne
Today's F1 race at Imola saw a big crash between Bottas and Russell. Looks like a sizable chunk of debris was deflected by Russell's halo.
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Looks like a chunk of polystyrene braking point marker board to me. Don't think that would have caused too much damage ;)
 
Honestly, the halo would have saved Justin Wilson and Henry Surtees, and seen from their onboards it would have been undoubtedly clear. All I've seen so far to prove this or that is just conjecture. Grosjean crash? Maybe, almost certain. Then again he was very close to get stuck in the flames by the halo itself. What is certain without "almost" is that 50 years later we still have guardrails not that much stronger than those which killed F. Cevert. And fire, a big fire, again.
FIA should be under investigation, but guess what, it's FIA investigating themselves: what a ridiculous joke...
 
StPeterMartyr
What is certain without "almost" is that 50 years later we still have guardrails not that much stronger than those which killed F. Cevert.
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Nope, we have very different Guardrails to the ones 50 years ago.

StPeterMartyr
And fire, a big fire, again.
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When was the last one again?

StPeterMartyr
FIA should be under investigation, but guess what, it's FIA investigating themselves: what a ridiculous joke...
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Are you honestly attempting to claim that the FIA doesn't take safety seriously?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0330351397/?tag=gtplanetuk-20

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A8ESDN4/?tag=gtplanetuk-20

Read the above two books, look at the work of the author and come back and make that claim.
 
StPeterMartyr
Honestly, the halo would have saved Justin Wilson and Henry Surtees, and seen from their onboards it would have been undoubtedly clear. All I've seen so far to prove this or that is just conjecture. Grosjean crash? Maybe, almost certain. Then again he was very close to get stuck in the flames by the halo itself. What is certain without "almost" is that 50 years later we still have guardrails not that much stronger than those which killed F. Cevert. And fire, a big fire, again.
FIA should be under investigation, but guess what, it's FIA investigating themselves: what a ridiculous joke...
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As long as F1 cars are still powered by the combustion of highly flammable liquids, fires are inevitable. Containers of fuel surrounded by very hot objects and high speed impacts can never be regulated in a way where the possibility of fire is completely avoidable.

The FIA has to be reactionary in its investigations rather than proactive. There are so many variables that they can't possibly regulate to make bad accidents completely avoidable. There should have been a tyre wall or Techpro barriers against that, and perhaps all guardrails as a matter of course, but it's a part of the circuit where cars were never envisioned to be in danger of hitting because theres no history of them doing so. Freak occurrence. You can't regulate what you can't perceive.
 
Scaff
Nope, we have very different Guardrails to the ones 50 years ago.


When was the last one again?


Are you honestly attempting to claim that the FIA doesn't take safety seriously?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0330351397/?tag=gtplanetuk-20

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A8ESDN4/?tag=gtplanetuk-20

Read the above two books, look at the work of the author and come back and make that claim.
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Well, after such a barrage by a moderator, you might as well send me a private message with the exact words you want me to reply with: "copy and paste", I can do the job.
 
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StPeterMartyr
Well, after such a barrage by a moderator, you might as well send me a private message with the exact words you want me to reply with: "copy and paste", I can do the job.
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It's a discussion forum, if you post, expect to get replies.

My status as a moderator has nothing to do with it at all, so I have no idea why you think it would, I simply disagree with you, as people do in a discussion.
 
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