F1-Shield-Red-Bull
F1 To Prioritise Research Into Shield Design As Halo Implementation Is Suspended
Formula One
As F1 strives to make Formula One safer for all those whom compete out on track recent years has seen research devoted to driver head protection in the form of a Halo and or a shield. The FIA strongly favoured the Halo and it was trailed in tests during the 2016 season. However now F1 wants to spearhead research into developing a shield that is essentially a forward mounted clear screen that wraps around the front and side edges of the drivers cockpit. The FIA will test the shield throughout the 2017 season and if testing data favours the shield device over the Halo then it will be implemented for real in time for the 2018 season. How effective these protective measures are in the real world is not clear. Both devices have received a mixed reception from drivers up and down the grid. F1-Halo-Ferrari The Halo device was not well received with Lewis Hamilton being the chief critic, others have said it simply doesn’t look visually pleasing. However the Halo has been extensively tested by the FIA and was ready to go only for the FIA to stumble into indecisiveness at the last minute. Key to the shield passing FIA tests is driver visibility and whether it will withstand the impact of a tyre impact at 150mph. It may well be that the FIA quietly scraps both devices to appease its new F1 owners, Liberty Media. In F1 if a technical development is ”suspended” its code for ”terminate”.  F1-Shield-Red-Bull
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