Motorsport’s governing body, the FIA has strongly defended their controversial decision to force through the introduction of the Halo cockpit protection into Formula 1 next year.
In an article published on their official website on Saturday, the FIA repeated their belief that the device was currently the best all-around solution in response to a number of major incidents that have seen drivers killed after being struck in the head.
“The severity of the incidents made it clear to the FIA that developing a solution to mitigate against frontal impact in the area of the cockpit is a research priority for the FIA to address this existing weak point,” the article read.
The governing body would then make it clear the desire to see greater driver protection was not just something it alone felt was needed in F1.
“The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association also expressed to FIA President Jean Todt in July 2016 a request that some form of frontal cockpit protection be “implemented as swiftly as possible”,” it continued.
“A month later, following meetings of the F1 Strategy Group and the F1 Commission, the Commission confirmed a commitment to introduce “some form of cockpit protection from the 2017 season”, assuring that “all stakeholders are working together to make this a reality, with the ‘Halo’ concept currently the preferred option”.”
The backlash from fans then, which remains now and was likely the reasoning for the article after a hugely negative reaction since the Wednesday announcement, caused the FIA to delay introducing the Halo for this year and consider alternatives with the Red Bull designed Aeroscreen and more recently the Ferrari-backed Shield both trialled.
Though still not highly welcomed by many, these were at least thought of as more aesthetically pleasing than the Halo, but neither, in the FIA’s view, provided the same level of safety as the Halo.
“The [Aeroscreen] system was tested in free practice at the 2016 Russian Grand Prix but while it was successful in some areas, further testing raised concerns as to the effectiveness of the device,” the article claimed.
“After static testing, the Shield system was given a short track test at the 2017 British Grand Prix, with the device fitted to the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. Feedback from this test concerned a number of limitations around such a system.”
As for the suitability of the Halo itself, the FIA claim: “By contrast, tests of the Halo continued to prove successful. Centring on three significant major risk types, car-to-car contact, car-to-environment contact and external objects.
“Tests revealed that in the case of car-to-car incidents the Halo was able to withstand 15x the static load of the full mass of the car and was able to significantly reduce the potential for injuries.
“In car-to-environment tests it was established that the Halo was able to prevent helmet contact with a wall or a barrier in many cases, using a selection of previous incidents as a reference.
“Finally, in the case of external objects, the Halo was found to successfully deflect large objects away from the cockpit environment and also demonstrated an increased net level of protection against small debris.”
The major concern many watching from outside the car have with Halo is potential visibility issues on undulating circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps but the FIA would play that down.
“Furthermore, feedback from extensive track testing revealed that visibility was substantially unaffected, and there was no significant visual obstruction due to the central strut,” the article said.
“Track testing also revealed no issues regarding egress from the cockpit and multiple extrication tests were conducted with the Halo in place, with a revised procedure formulated to ensure safe extrication.”
With that information and a prior agreement in place that additional cockpit protection would be included in the 2018 rules, the FIA says the Halo was the most suitable option to meet that agreement and that is why they have forced through its introduction despite an overwhelming nine-to-one vote against it among the 10 F1 teams.
The article will likely do little to appease those angry fans but for now, it looks as if the FIA have no intention of reconsidering.
