Halo: The Circle of life
It took a horrific crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix to turn haters into fans for this great innovation.
“I’ve never liked it and I still don’t like it. Personally I think it was a sad day for Formula One when it came out.”
So said Romain Grosjean in 2017 when the Halo was announced as mandatory from the 2018 season.
His teammate, Kevin Magnussen, at Haas had this to say: “And I think we’ve gone too far with safety now. It’s already in a good place, the safety has moved on massively from 30 years ago when Formula One really was too dangerous. So I’m happy as it is, I don’t see that we need any more. It looks bad, it’s not Formula One.”
Then this happened in Nov 2020:
A News18 article summed up the incident:
In the Bahrain Grand Prix at the end of November, Grosjean's car veered off the track and rammed straight into the crash barrier, which split it into two. The split car immediately caught fire but Grosjean managed to limp out of it.
Grosjean reportedly braked the car when it was going on at approximately 215kmph and the estimated impact speed was 200kmph. The impact was measured at a force of 53G. In terms of how the crash looked like, it was perhaps the worst Formula One has seen in a long time. Yet, Grosjean survived without much damage and F1's halo system is being credited for the same.
So, what is the Halo?
The halo is a driver crash-protection system used in open-wheel racing series, which consists of a curved bar placed to protect the driver's head.
The first tests of the halo were carried out in 2016 and in July 2017. Since the 2018 season the FIA(Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) has made the halo mandatory on every vehicle in Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula E and also Formula 4 as a new safety measure.
The system consists of a bar that surrounds the driver's head and is connected by three points to the vehicle frame. The halo is made of titanium and weighed around 7 kilograms (15 lb) in the version presented in 2016, then rose to 9 kilograms (20 lb) in 2017.
The system is not developed by the teams, but is manufactured by three approved external manufacturers chosen by the FIA and has the same specification for all vehicles.
The Halo is a serious piece of engineering, this ‘ugly’ 9 kg invention can support a London double decker bus.
For those who prefer to ‘watch’ than ‘read’ this video is a good primer:
The FIA examined three fundamental scenarios—collision between two vehicles, contact between a vehicle and the surrounding environment (such as barriers) and collisions with vehicles and debris. Tests have shown that the halo system can significantly reduce the risk of injury to the driver. Moreover, in many cases the system was able to prevent the helmet from coming into contact with a barrier when checked against a series of accidents that had occurred in the past. During the study of the last case it was found that the halo was able to deflect large objects and provide greater protection against smaller debris.
At the Bahrain Grand Prix the barrier scenario came into play. This is what Grosjean had to say:
"Thank you very much for all the messages. I wasn't for the halo some years ago, but I think it's the greatest thing we've done for Formula One and without it I wouldn't be able to speak to you today.”
Remember Kevin Magnussen? He had this to say "so happy that the halo was introduced ... without it I'm sure it would have been a very different day."
halo
noun /ˈheɪləʊ/ /ˈheɪləʊ/(plural haloes, halos)
(in paintings, etc.) a circle of light shown around or above the head of a holy person
She played the part of an angel, complete with wings and a halo.
An angel was certainly watching over Romain Grosjean that November day in Bahrain.
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