Here's Your First Proper Look At Red Bull's Canopy Concept
We’ve seen Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel test out the new halo ‘thong’ on track, and now it’s time for Red Bull’s concept to make its debut. Unlike the halo, Red Bull’s ‘aeroscreen’ wraps around the cockpit, with two pillars on either side. Not only is this design regarded by many to be better looking that the halo, but it also provides additional protection.
Because the screen resembles a fighter jet canopy, the driver is protected from head-on strikes; think Felipe Massa’s accident at the 2009 Hungarian GP. And unlike the halo, the aeroscreen features an open top, giving the driver an escape route in the event of a rollover. Something that has been a major worry after Fernando Alonso’s shunt at this year’s opening round in Australia.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner clearly favours his team’s solution: “I think the canopy offers a bit more protection because it does have a windscreen. We believe there’s better visibility and it’s a more elegant solution to the brief, rather than the boomerang thing that is the halo.”
Unsurprisingly, not everyone agrees, with fans favourite Lewis Hamilton telling Autosport:
“If they’re going to do this, close the cockpit like a fighter jet. Don’t half-arse it. Go one way or the other. That screen looks so bad. It looks like a bloody riot shield. You’ve got this cool, elegant futuristic Formula 1 car, and you’ve got a riot shield sitting on top of it. And the other one [halo], the carbon fibre structure was obviously good but Fernando [Alonso] wouldn’t have been able to get out of the car potentially in his crash in Melbourne.”
F1’s governing body has said that it ‘intends to introduce cockpit protection for 2017’ in a bid to improve driver safety following the deaths of Jules Bianchi and Indycar Driver Justin Wilson last year. And as it stands, it looks like the halo is the ‘preferred’ option of the FIA.
So the question is, which do you prefer? Do you think the ‘halo’ is better, or do you want to see Red Bull’s concept hit the grid? Take our poll below!
Comments
Am I the only one who actually likes the Red Bull design and the idea of a F1 windshield? I think it looks like a mix between a boat windshield and a jet cockpit
Nope. I like it too
It looks awesome, makes the car look even more modern :)
You’ve got to understand that formula one is litterally the pinnacle of automotive engineering so we should expect something a bit more impressive than these
it reminds me of the little windshields in the 90s
My thoughts exactly.
I don’t think the cars look as good with it, but safety comes first. However, I don’t think the shield will do anything. Massa was lucky to survive, but it was also an extremely unique accident. Bianchi died cause he hit a tractor, a tragic accident that should never have happened. But when else in recent F1 history, would a shield help? It is basically only if a piece comes off the car and has a direct impact, and the odds of that aren’t huge. Keep in mind there are multiple tethers tying the tires to the car.
I think the whole idea is for more protection for all open cockpit racing. F1 and Indycar and just the most popular. And the other issue beyond Massa and Bianchi is what happened to Justin Wilson. He got hit with a loose piece from a nose cone. And I watched that race too, or seemed at the time to just be a nothing, weird event. Never woulda thought it woulda killed him, and so quickly. One of those wing plates or nose tips just has to fly up just right and that’s all it takes. And quite often when you see them break, you see pieces flying up in the air. To be honest, I’m quite surprised this hasn’t been a serious problem in F1 for a while. And this flowing debris problem isn’t fixed with the halo device.
The thong just looks weird to me, it looks like it’s there to obstruct the view rather than protect the driver in a crash.
F1 teams have/spend millions of pounds on developments and aerodynamics yet the best they can do is screw some Perspex around his head 👍🏻
Lewis Hamilton is on point with his comment. Don’t half arse it.
Well Hamilton just is an idiot.
He just don’t want any protection, and looks like it that he blame it on the style.
that was about the thong
Am I the only one who thinks it´s funny that Italy is the only country that likes the Thong as much as the Riot Shield
Where’s the “neither” option?…
The aeroscreen or whatever it’s called looks a lot cooler.
Actually agree with hamilton comment, even if his attitude has been quite poor on the subject… They should go all the way with a cockpit design, maybe adding in an emergency ejection system (for the cockpit dome, not the driver) to allow for an escape if need be… I wonder if Mercedes could adapt the exploding hinge system from the SLS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMNVVHI2ZNg#t=179
watch from 2:20 on, the system works great, should be easy for f1 to adapt that technology considering the other stuff they engineer.
Doesn’t the thong cover a lot of the driver’s visibility?
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