Here's Your First Proper Look At Red Bull's Canopy Concept
Testing out the Aeroscreen wth @danielricciardo before it makes its track debut at the #RussianGP in FP1. #F1 pic.twitter.com/wTufn9eq07
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 28, 2016
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
I think the riot shield is more likely to work but I can’t help but think what happens if oil or something else gets stuck on it. It’ll probably have form form of film on it to prevent it but that doesn’t mean things won’t happen.
I keep thinking about the Alsonso Crash from Australia this year whenever I see these. I reckon he would have got stuck as he literally just unclipped himself and dropped out. I know there’s top clearance but things like wiggle room come into play. Plus if a car is on fire or something and a driver has to quickly exit then surely the closed cockpits will hinder this somewhat
The only Ferrari thong I like is on the F12
Off topic but can you fix the communities thing out please!
On cars the aero screen is better but on women, the thong is perfect👌
What if they have bars pop up around the driver during a collision so they don’t land on their head. I’ve seen it done on convertible aston martins I just dont know the name.
I think the “Riot Shield” looks better and serves its purpose better than the thong which by the way happens to take some of the driver’s vision as a toll
I know it’s off topic but I need to ask how to create a post on the IOS app.
How do you do it, I can’t find the tool to do so
guys can anybody tell me how do i post content on this new ct layout?
I don’t know about you guys, but a ‘riot shield’ sounds much more protective than a ‘thong’…
I much prefer the look of red bulls concept than the Ferrari thong, looks like it gets in the way to much