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IndyCar's alternative to cockpit protection has proved a success on its first test. The glass windscreen, which is made from the same material as an F-18 fighter jet, was trialled this week. Formula 1 will introduce cockpit protection this season in the form of the controversial Halo.
Cockpit protection has been a major talking point in motorsport during the last number of years, fuelled by the deaths of F1's Jules Bianchi and IndyCar's Justin Wilson.
Four-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon spoke positively about the device following the test: "I think it's definitely a milestone as far as moving forward and moving in the right direction for some more safety initiatives, and we all know the reasons why," he said.
However, he did admit that the lack of airflow made things in the cockpit quite warm. But IndyCar director of engineering and safety Jeff Horton was also pleased with the results: "When a guy like Scott gets out, a veteran of ours, and says there's no deal breakers, a couple of small things to look at, what better could you ask for," he said.
The device is made from a material called Opticore, and is four-tenths of an inch thick and rises at a 25-degree angle. IndyCar officials are eyeing an introduction of the windscreen in 2019, but understand that more testing needs to be done before a decision is made.
"It's a little bit different looking through something that's so thick but I thought it would have messed with my distortion a lot more but there was nothing like that," Dixon added. "There was no problem with reflection. The weirdest thing was just how quiet it is. You have no buffeting. The car feels very smooth."
A ballistics test is up next for the windscreen, in which researchers will look at how much force the screen can take. Horton admits that he is excited to see the next phase of tests, and believes there will be ways to rectify a negative result from them.
"It's like any project," Horton said. "Whether we're developing foam for the car and stuff or whatever, it's always exciting to do the test and have it a success. And trust me, we've had many non-successful things and we just go figure out the solution and keep working."
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
Hepp
Posts: 200
I would suggest 2 ducts in the body, 6" left and right of center, leading into the cockpit side of the wind screen. Much like a road car's forced-air defroster. This could be engineered to negate any aerodynamic advantage the added forward surface may provide.
Much better looking than F1's attempts.