Halo can hold the weight of a London bus
- Published on 08 Feb 2018 11:46
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- By: Fergal Walsh
The Halo must be strong enough to hold the weight of a London double-decker bus, according to Mercedes technical director James Allison. The controversial cockpit protection device will be implemented into Formula 1 for the upcoming season in a bid to improve driver safety.
After extensive tests over the last number of years, the FIA confirmed that the Halo was the only device ready to be structured onto the F1 cars for the 2018 season. In a video from Mercedes, Allison explained the tasks that all 10 teams on the grid have taken onboard.
"This is not a light piece of work, it is several kilos of titanium that needs to be put in the car," he said. "There are changes that we needed to do to accommodate it to ensure the overall car would still stay below the weight limit.
"It's also not light because it takes really high loads. We had to strengthen the design of the chassis so it would be able to take roughly the weight of a London double-decker bus sitting on top of the Halo. We needed to make sure it would be strong enough to withstand the type of event it was designed to protect the driver against."
Many fans have consistently voiced outrage over the decision to introduce the Halo, mostly due to its unappealing visuals. Teams will be designing the Halo as a part of their liveries, and Allison believes that head protection concepts will look better in time.
"This is the first generation head protection that goes up, over and around the driver's head. But it won't be the last. Nothing in F1 stands still for long. We will all be taking this first go and trying to improve it, trying to make sure the safety gets better but also the aesthetics.
"It's bit of an acquired taste and we're still acquiring it and everyone else too but I'm sure there are things we can do in coming seasons to make it also look nicer. The imperative to look after the driver safety and our desire to give us cars that are going to set the pulse racing aesthetically will see us continue to develop this concept in the seasons to come."
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Replies (9)
Login to replyRindtchamp
Posts: 304
Quite frankly it looks like it belongs on a bus.
f1dave
Posts: 782
The way the silly rules are being added to F1 I wouldn't be surprised if the FIA introduces London busses into the mix. Oh, and a few more tire compounds as well.
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
London GP confirmed!
I still don't like it, no matter how much weight it can hold.
It doesn't belong, and freak accidents will still happen.
This is only being done because of fear over lawsuits.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Time will tell. If it does work, it belongs here.
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
Define work?
Motorsport is inherently dangerous. That is some of the appeal for some drivers and fans alike.
It looks horrible. The testing of it has been substandard. I don't remember who said it, but F1/FIA is very afraid of being sued by the estate of Jules Blanchi for wrongful death due to them not providing a safety measure if it was available.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
See below commenta for reference.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Thats nice and all, but will it do its job? 'suppose there's just one way to find out.
Pauli
Posts: 140
If you look at Halo's shape from directly from front you can see how it is shaped to cause frontal flying objects to deflects away from driver's head. That means Halo should offer protection even if smaller object makes partial contact with it. Of course its primary purpose is to stop bigger objects like lose wheels or wings.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It should. Now Im not against the halo, despite it being ugly, but there will only really be one way to know for sure if its working, and thats an incident. Not sure if I want that to happen any time soon though.