Iceman First To Test F1 ‘Halo’ Protector, Does Not Approve
Perhaps a 'proto-halo' would be a more appropriate. In fact, even the name Halo is tenuous at best, with the use of zippy acronyms being Formula 1’s preffered modus operandi. There’s also some copyright clashes with a certain popular video game franchise should that name be pursued.
Kimi Raikkonen had become the first driver in Formula 1 to test out this new protective device, which partially covers the the cockpit. Recently, the FIA published photographs of these ‘halo’ devices undergoing strength testing, and today images (seen here) were posted on the Formula 1 official Twitter account and website.
How does the Iceman like driving with it? From the video below, you can see him shaking his head after a stint with the device attached during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona in Spain.
The F1 Twitter feed, however, says Raikkonen is pretty positive about it.
Either way, we agree that more should be done to prevent head injuries in motorsport, and kudos to F1 for leading the way on that front.
Formula 1 has always put safety at the forefront of the sport, taking meticulous care to ensure all precautions are taken to prevent every – or nearly every – accident or misfortune from occuring. But in open-wheel racing, the most vital part of the human anatomy is also the most vulnerable.
The most recent development is these efforts in to protect the driver’s helmet (and head) from debris, a small chunk of which can cause severe or even lethal injury when travelling at speeds above 300km/h.
Such was the case in 2009 of Brazillian then-Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, who was struck in the head by a suspension spring that had come loose from Rubens Barichello’s Brawn just ahead of him. The impact was near-fatal, but he recovered after a surguries and did not return to the starting grid until the following season.
If Kimi's initial impression are anything to go by, perhaps FIA's engineers have a lot of work ahead to refine to design of their 'halo' device.
