New HALO system tested

[sirtyro]

So today Kimi got to test the new Halo system. My view is that it looks terrible and they should really leave it as it is or go full canopy.

[mollytherocker]

I am happy to overlook the looks for safety on this occasion.

However, would this have saved Bianchi? I doubt it.

What about Massa? Maybe, but looking at where the spring hit him, probably not.

what about if the device itself was hit and splintered and hit the drivers head?

I am not convinced this is an improvement in safety. But am prepared to be educated!

[Adam Ansel]

I would dearly love to hear what Kimi said about this after the run.

[mollytherocker]

Adam Ansel said:

I would dearly love to hear what Kimi said about this after the run.

I would imagine it was short and to the point!

[Vaud]

I don't know anything about the structural forces, but I wonder why they are attaching the front strut it to the cockpit front, rather than just backwards to just below the airbox.

[Adam Ansel]

Driver's view:

[thegreenhell]

Adam Ansel said:

I would dearly love to hear what Kimi said about this after the run.

From the Autosport live feed:

10:15 According to Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen has said the visibility was "OK" when he ran the halo for an installation lap this morning. The design is an early prototype that it has produced itself and is pretty close to what it expects the final shape to be. As yet, it is unsure whether Sebastian Vettel will test it tomorrow.

[kambites]

Adam Ansel said:

Driver's view:

That looks like it could create a rather huge blind-spot on circuits with significant elevation changes. I know they don't race at Brands Hatch, but imagine trying to pick your line into Druids with that things there.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 3rd March 10:26

[Henry Fiddleton]

How has it ended up with this as opposed the canopy, as per Le Mans esk cars!

My eyes - what a mess F1 these days.

WEC and BTCC it is. Hmm, notice the lack of FIA involvement.

[kambites]

Henry Fiddleton said:

How has it ended up with this as opposed the canopy, as per Le Mans esk cars!

I think there were two concerns with the canopy - keeping it clean and dry so the driver can actually see; and the potential difficulty of getting the driver out of the car in an accident.

[bristolracer]

Not pretty

Just stop mucking about and go full canopy.

Having said that the car itself looks a total dogs dinner with all those micro spoilers and fins on

[BarbaricAvatar]

sirtyro said:

So today Kimi got to test the new Halo system. My view is that it looks terrible and they should really leave it as it is or go full canopy.

Looks like a whale-tail (of undergarments).
Oh dear.

[Dr Z]

mollytherocker said:

Adam Ansel said:

I would dearly love to hear what Kimi said about this after the run.

I would imagine it was short and to the point!

He said it was "OK".

Imagine this in the first corner of a race, everyone piling in...hard to believe it won't create a blind spot.

SMIDSY Galore!

[rscott]

Not sure it'll reduce visisbilty that much - they've already got the driver facing camera right in front of them (new this year) plus an assortment of antennae and pitot tubes.
Ok - they might not see a Grosjean at Spa special (if i remember rightly), but I'm not sure it'll make that much difference. We reallly need a helmet cam shot to be sure.

[24lemons]

Vaud said:

I don't know anything about the structural forces, but I wonder why they are attaching the front strut it to the cockpit front, rather than just backwards to just below the airbox.

In the Autosport article it says that this prototype is a temporary fix, so probably not structural in any way. I would imagine that in 12 months time the device will look better integrated and refined. It's not pretty and probably wont ever be but the cars are hardly lookers as they are. Visually, my preference would be for a canopy but I'll trust the research and opinions of the (cleverer than me) engineers!

[Cyder]

Looks awful and wouldn't have saved either Bianchi or De Vilotta.

My opinion is they should just keep it as it is with the risks mitigated as much as possible with the current design. (Safer circuits, tethers, smart car design)

[kambites]

I think it probably would have saved De Vilotta because the thing she hit could have been deflected upwards (it was the hinged tail-lift on a lorry). That's hardly a "normal" F1 crash, though.

[ajprice]

[mollytherocker]

sirtyro said:

So today Kimi got to test the new Halo system. My view is that it looks terrible and they should really leave it as it is or go full canopy.

Wearing a black G string on your head isn't the coolest of looks.

[Esseesse]

Maybe an alternative is to make the back of the seat 'weak'. If it was mandatory to have 30 cm of empty space in the body behind the driver with a seat back designed to move under heavy load then it would give a head/body somewhere to go in one of these frontal impacts?