(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The 2018 Formula 1 season will see the controversial halo cockpit protection device being implemented by the FIA. While the governing body has strongly defended its decision, it has received lots of opposition from fans, the teams and even the drivers the individuals at maximum risk in this sport.
The purists, most of them belonging to the older generation, are against any changes being made to the sport. Good ol' days of F1 were the best, they say. You risked everything to gain everything. Today they claim the sport has been corrupted by electronics and well, amongst other things, by social media.
Nobody can deny the bravado of the racers who competed in those days but in today's age of technological marvels, there's no justification for the loss of life. Yes, the drivers know the risk when they strap on their helmets and HANS devices. Screaming about a circuit in excess of 300kmph does bring about an extreme element of danger and which is why, the more that can be done to protect the drivers the better it is for the sport.
There already exists a host of safety features that are in place to protect the drivers from vastly improved track barriers to cockpits that can withstand huge crashes. And despite that there have been fatalities.
Dan Wheldon was killed in an accident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October 2011 after his car landed cockpit-first in the catch netting. British driver Justin Wilson was killed after he was hit by a piece of flying debris in an IndyCar race in 2015. Felipe Massa suffered a skull fracture after being hit by a spring in 2009. Just two weeks before that, Henry Surtees was killed at a Formula Two race after he was struck by a wheel that had broken free from another car. In 2015, F1 saw its first fatality in 21 years with the unfortunate death of Jules Bianchi.
The halo could have prevented a few of those deaths. It's not that the FIA haven't tried other cockpit protection solutions. There was the aeroscreen and the shield which Sebastian Vettel complained that it made him dizzy but it is the halo that has undergone the most extensive and rigorous testing.
During the tests, the halo was shown to withstand 15-times the static load of the full mass of the car. In layman's terms, it was able to significantly reduce the potential for injuries. It can prevent the helmet coming into contact with a wall or a barrier in the eventuality of an accident. It was also found to be successful in deflecting large objects away from the cockpit. FIA have also been able to demonstrate that the halo increases the chances of surviving an incident by 17 per cent.
It might take time to get used to it visually but if it saves lives, it's best to leave it there. In any other walk of life, one wants as much safety as possible. Why not in sport? There's no such thing as it's too safe. In fact, the more safety you provide, the more confident the driver will get and that will result is more drama during the race.
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