Formula One to Scrap 'Halo' Concept

[Paul Jeffrey]

Motorsport governing body the FIA are planning to scrap the controversial 'Halo' head protection cage and introduce the new 'Shield' concept after agreeing the move during a recent Strategy Group meeting.

Despite several teams and drivers having tried out the Halo concept during selected official practice sessions last season, the FIA together with the Formula One Commission and Strategy Group have voted in favour of dropping the solution altogether to be replaced by newly introduced 'Shield' safety concept. The "Shield" concept is thought to be a considerably more aesthetically pleasing alternative to the obtrusive and robust looking Halo bar, something that has previously caused concerns amongst fans, drivers and teams prior to the decision to delay it's introduction to the sport next season.

At the recent Chinese Grand Prix the current field of Formula One team's were presented with an alternative concept from the FIA which would introduce a clear frontal protection visor directly in front of the drivers helmet, designed to offer vital head protection whilst causing minimal visual impact on the cars and still meeting the strict safety and extraction requirements of modern day Grand Prix racing. The 'Shield' solution has reportedly been received positively by the teams and a vote has been passed during the April 25th Commission and Strategy Group meeting to implement the 'Shield' "family of systems".

“A number of more integrated solutions for additional frontal protection have been studied, and the decision has been taken to give priority to the transparent ‘Shield’ family of systems" A statement from the FIA read.

“The FIA aims to carry out track tests of this system during this season in preparation for implementation in 2018.”​

Despite the relatively late introduction of this concept in comparison to the extended discussions around the previous Halo design, the FIA intend to retain the 2018 season deadline for introduction of the product. As was the case during 2016 several teams and drivers will be given the opportunity to sample the 'Shield' in practice sessions during the course of current season.

How the head protection devices will look once introduced next year have yet to be fully revealed, however the FIA statement did elude to more that one product within the range being available. This could simply mean that development is ongoing and a final design has yet to be agreed, or it could offer the possibility of multiple versions of the product being made available for the teams to select ahead of the season depending on each individual cars unique design characteristics.

Regardless of how the final design and implementation will turn out I'm sure many fans of the sport will be relieved to see a more elegant compromise has been found to the desire of offering heighted head protection to Formula One drivers, as let's face it.. that Halo device was just plain ugly....

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Do you like the sound of the 'Shield' concept in Formula One? Do you think head protection such as the Halo and Shield are even necessary in Grand Prix racing? Let us know your opinion in the comments section below!

 

[mantasisg]

Goodbye rain races.

Oh wait....

 

[Kevin Bradley]

Yep. Aesthetically the shield looks much better than the halo. Provided the shield offers the driver the same level of protection it has got to be the better solution. From what Paul has written the teams seem to prefer the shield too so it's a bit of a 'no brainer' as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Kevin Bradley]

Goodbye rain races.

Oh yeah. Forgot about rain. What happens then with the shield? Wipers?

 

[mantasisg]

Maybe they will use some kind of hydrophobic coat.

 

[Boby Kim]

Scrap F1, put all drivers in a LMP1 car et voila...problem solved.

 

[F_B]

Good decision, Halo was more or less a joke and some kind of a gamble. Will this flying screw hit halo or will it go through? Cannot understand that they even thought about installing it.

 

[shimon.ifraimov]

why not complete closed like a fighter jet?

 

[F_B]

why not complete closed like a fighter jet?

Rescueing a driver whose car is lying on the canopy would be a problem.

 

[shimon.ifraimov]

Rescueing a driver whose car is lying on the canopy would be a problem.

 

[Deleted member 6919]

Look apart from making them drive a tin top, if something wants to hit you in the head, it's going to, the Halo looked awful, so glad it's gone, will have to wait to see how stupid this one will look, I'd rather them concentrate on making the driving more exciting..For the money these guys earn I'd drive round and let the crowd throw stuff at me..

 

[ltcars]

Scrap F1, put all drivers in a LMP1 car et voila...problem solved.

I think LMP1 cars are one of the prettiest racecars nowadays. Why not?

 

[Giorgos Kostis]

The shield should be like red bull from gran turismo.

 

[Rob]

In reality, liberty scrapped this. Dear FIA -Thank God there is a new sheriff in town.

 

[Andrew Harper]

I think aesthetically it would look best if it ran at the same sort of angle as nose section, rather than the abrupt angle we see in the Red Bull concept. By the looks of it this is something they are looking at.

So in the image below for example remove the second half of the "canopy" to just leave the front half, that would look really nice. However the current F1 cars have flat nose sections leading to the front suspension pickups and bulkhead so we'll see what we end up with.

I am glad the HALO got dropped though, yes it was created with good intentions but it looked awful.

 

[Ryan Soucy]

Why I'll likely be watching Formula E and fast forwarding through F1 races...

 

[jonelsorel]

Honestly, FIA, put F1 cars inside a kevlar reinforced bubble. That should do it for safety. Because the drivers definitely don't know the risks they take for the paychecks they're getting. Or here's another thought: why not use that shield material for the helmet visor, and actually make helmets from something beside styrofoam?

 

[el chasco]

No bubbles or similar things plz.

A f1 must be open.

 

[Wizbiscuit]

I have often wondered why they still use rear view mirrors?? why not use rear facing camera and superimpose onto this new canopy? The triple mirror like in rF2 would be ideal

 

[burrito]

This to me is the FIA making sure they look like they are making an effort to protect driver's heads after the aftermath of Jules Bianchi. (Which for the record I think was totally the FIA's fault, but should be solved by more frequent use of the SC rather than head protection).

There is no way this surprise new head protection will be introduced for next year when the Halo was pushed back to 2018 after being tested extensively throughout 2016. Maybe a little cynical but I am starting to think this is just the FIA trying to look "busy" until the whole problem of head protection goes away. Lets be honest, between the teams and the FIA this new idea won't be on cars until late this year at earliest and won't be mandated till 2019 (unless of course they do another knock out qualifying).