This "flip-flop" saved Zhou Guanyu from the hands of death

In the F1 British Grand Prix, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu narrowly escaped from a serious accident. How does the Halo system save lives from death? What other "black technologies" can protect you?

Compiled by New Media Editor Duan Dawei

On July 3rd, Beijing time, the 2022 F1 British Grand Prix had just started when a catastrophic accident occurred in which at least five cars collided. Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu suffered a serious rollover.

(Photo source: ZAKER News)

In the early morning of July 4, @车手周冠宇 updated his Weibo to report that he was safe: "I'm fine. I'm lucky to still be standing here. Halo saved me today."

Immediately, the related topic #Halo system has made another contribution# became a hot search.

During the F1 race, the average speed is as high as 260 km/h, and the maximum speed can reach about 380 km/h. What does this mean? For non-professional racers, it is so fast that they cannot judge the changes around them. When taking the driver's license test, the coach repeatedly reminded us not to exceed 40 km/h when turning, while the F1 cornering speed is above 150 km/h. Moreover, F1 drivers need to race at such extreme speeds for more than 1 hour, so it is conceivable that they need very excellent professional ability and physical fitness.

▲F1 race from the perspective of broadcast (GIF produced by David Duan)

▲F1 race from the audience's perspective. The speed of F1 cars from this perspective is more impactful (GIF produced by Duan David)

Why can the Halo system protect the personal safety of racers at critical moments? In the fast and exciting F1 arena, how is the safety of F1 drivers gradually improved? And what other black technologies are there in F1 cars?

"Halo" covers Zhou Guanyu

From the 1950s to 2017, the cockpits of F1 cars were exposed and open, that is, the driver's head was exposed outside the cockpit, which meant that the only thing that could protect the head was a helmet. At a speed of 300 kilometers per hour, the protection of a helmet alone is far from enough. Since the 2018 season, as teams have launched new racing cars one after another, people have been surprised to find that this year's racing cars are not much different from any previous seasons: the International Automobile Federation requires that a pair of black "flip-flops" be installed in front of the cockpit of the new car, which the FIA ​​officially named Halo, which is exactly the "savior" mentioned by Zhou Guanyu.

▲The Halo system on each team (Photo source: Sina Sports)

▲AeroScreen device (Photo source: Autohome)

▲Shield device (Photo source: Autohome)

The Halo system is not the earliest driver head protection solution. Its previous AeroScreen and Shield devices were rejected because they affected the driver's escape or driving experience. In 2016, technical officials from the International Automobile Federation (FIA) installed a "flip-flop" on the car where the Shield was originally placed. Because this strange-looking "flip-flop" looks like a ring, it was named "Halo". The Halo system was tested on the car at the end of the 17th season, but the evaluation was mixed. However, after excluding two solutions, the FIA ​​felt that it was urgent and forced all teams to install the Halo system.

▲Halo system in testing (Photo source: ZAKER News)

The Halo system is made of titanium alloy with a diameter of 50 mm. The three fulcrums are welded in front of the cabin and behind the left and right sides. Although the mass of the Halo system is only 1/3 of that of the Shield, no more than 7 kg, it can withstand the pressure of 116 kN vertical and 46 kN lateral impact, and can withstand the weight of a 12-ton double-decker bus. This may be the biggest advantage of titanium alloy - ultra-light and crash-resistant.

In January 2017, the FIA ​​officials conducted a test by placing a helmeted mannequin inside the Halo ring, and then pushed a 20kg Pirelli tire to hit the Halo ring at a speed of 225km/h. As a result, people were surprised to find that the Halo ring did not deform at all and the mannequin remained intact.

▲Comparison before and after the Halo system is installed (Photo source: Sina Sports)

The first season of the Halo system, it saved the life of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. 2018 was Leclerc's first year in F1. At the Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren's Alonso was rear-ended by Renault's Hulkenberg, and the car flew into the air, flew over Leclerc's head, and slid down with Halo pressed down. If there was no Halo system, Leclerc's head might have been crushed by the half-ton car flying into the air at high speed. Since then, people have less doubts and criticisms about the Halo system.

Speed ​​and danger

The safety of drivers is gradually established and improved after countless painful lessons of fire, blood, tears and pain in history. In the 1950s, F1 events were synonymous with death. At that time, the speed of the car had reached the 300 km/h mark. In order to reduce unnecessary weight, the strength of the car body was not improved accordingly. Under the idea of ​​minimizing resistance and increasing the top speed, the lack of friction in the corners also made the car more and more difficult to control. Crashes almost became a fixed program in the competition, and everyone was accustomed to it. The team continued to launch faster and lighter cars, and in order to make the competition more entertaining, the organizers allowed the spectators to walk around freely in the high-speed corners without fence protection and buffer zones. This means that the spectators and drivers face the same dangers.

▲The accident scene of the 1955 Le Mans tragedy (picture from the Internet)

In the 1955 Le Mans race, the Mercedes-Benz car lost control and crashed into the crowd, causing 81 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

▲Jim Clark (Photo source: Sohu Auto)

In 1968, Jim Clark, a recognized talented driver, had an accident while participating in a low-level race. He flew out of the car and died on the spot. Unfortunately, the race continued after the accident scene was cleaned up and the body was transported away - at that time, the race would not be stopped due to the driver's accident. Jim Clark's death had a huge impact on the racing world and caused more drivers to be dissatisfied with the low safety of racing. A few months later, the Drivers Association was established and proposed that drivers must wear fireproof clothing and safety helmets.

In 1973, the car of English driver Roger Williamson flipped over after a collision and landed upside down beside the track. At this time, the car suddenly caught fire. His teammate and good friend David Purley immediately stopped the car, jumped off the car, ran to the scene, and tried to flip the car that was blazing. But human power was obviously not enough to push a car weighing hundreds of kilograms. Roger Williamson was buried in the sea of ​​fire under the watchful eyes of his friends...

Roger Williamson's accident directly led to the birth of the F1 professional firefighting team, and the accident fire prevention requirements for racing cars have become increasingly higher.

At the same time, Lotus founder Colin Chapman and the Lotus team set out to increase the downforce of the car and added larger spoiler wings to the car. In the subsequent new technology experiments, more drivers sacrificed their precious lives. Bruce McLaren, the founder of the McLaren brand, died as a result. Shortly thereafter, the drivers of the Nürburgring track of the German Grand Prix collectively protested and no one was willing to participate. After the efforts of the Drivers' Association, the Nürburgring track no longer appeared on the F1 event list. Coincidentally, the Spa track, which had previously had many accidents, was also voted out by the drivers.

Throughout the 70-year history of F1, more than 300 people have died, including 15 in the 1950s and 14 in the 1960s. Thanks to the efforts of the drivers' union, this number dropped to 12 in the 1970s and 4 in the 1980s.

▲Roland Ratzenberger (Photo source: Motorsport.com)

▲Ayrton Senna (Photo source: Sina Sports)

In 1994, two drivers died in the same race week at the San Marino Circuit - Roland Ratzenberger and the famous Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna. Since then, the FIA ​​has imposed stricter rules on F1 events. In the 21st century, only one driver has died in an F1 race.

F1 drivers who are “armed to the teeth”

In addition to the HALO system, the race will also ensure the safety of drivers in many ways. Professional car critic and driver Jiang Weilin said that today's F1 races have been "armed to the teeth" with safety configurations. From the driver's shoes, underwear, clothes, gloves, helmets, HANS systems (Head And Neck Support), HALO systems, as well as the car's explosion-proof fuel tanks, core safety bags, survival capsules, and cushioning materials in the vehicle, all items and materials must pass FIA safety certification.

Fire resistant racing suit

(Image source: latimages.com)

The main material of fireproof racing suits is poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide), which has very good stability. The latest test standard of FIA fireproof racing suits stipulates that the racing suits must remain intact in a fire of 800°C for 20 seconds.

HANS system

HANS is the abbreviation of Head And Neck Support. Its function is to prevent the driver's head from moving back and forth violently, avoiding damage to the driver's head and neck, especially the base of the skull.

(Photo source: Autohome)

The human neck is different from the chest and head. The chest cavity is protected by the spine and ribs, while the head is protected by the skull. The neck, which is supported by only one spine, is the most vulnerable. During the race, the driver's neck has to bear five times the weight of his head and helmet, and the direction and speed of the force change are extremely fast, which requires F1 drivers to have a strong neck. Once an accident occurs, the force on the neck will increase sharply, which can easily put life in danger.

The head and neck protection system can prevent the driver's spine from being pulled backwards and the driver's head from being thrown forward and hitting the steering wheel. According to test statistics, after wearing the HANS system, the force on the driver's head and neck during a collision was reduced by 68% and 86% respectively.

Carbon fiber monocoque

The monocoque cockpit is the most important equipment to accommodate F1 drivers. The monocoque is made of expensive carbon fiber, which is twice as strong as steel but only one-fifth of its mass. In F1 cars, every gram is valuable, so this is an important reason why the monocoque is made of carbon fiber. At present, the monocoque of F1 cars is composed of a total of 12 layers of carbon fiber. It should be noted that each carbon fiber is only one-fifth the thickness of a human hair. When manufacturing the monocoque, a layer of honeycomb aluminum is laid between two layers of carbon fiber, and then it is placed in a high-temperature and high-pressure oven for baking. It takes about two and a half hours for the monocoque to form and harden.

According to F1 rules, the carbon fiber monocoque cockpit must be manufactured by each team, which can withstand the weight of a double-decker bus and prevent any sharp objects from penetrating. In order to ensure the safety of the drivers to the greatest extent, the power components such as the engine and gearbox are placed outside the monocoque cockpit, while the fuel tank, which is easily ignited, is included in the monocoque cockpit structure. After experiencing a severe collision of 53G, the monocoque stuck in the crash barrier remained intact.

The success of an F1 event is the result of the joint efforts of many factors. The future evolution of F1 events is to make this extreme sport less shadowed by death and more fast and exciting.

(Content sources: ZAKER News, Racing World Talk, Sina Sports, Sohu Racing, CCTV News, Red Star News, etc.)

Produced by: Science Central Kitchen

Produced by: Beijing Science and Technology News | Beijing Science and Technology Media

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