henry wrote: ↑04 Jul 2022, 10:10
e30ernest wrote: ↑04 Jul 2022, 03:48
Looking at this:
Zhou was very lucky there was no fire.
Good on the Halo again though. Definitely saved him there.
It was not luck that prevented a fire. After Grosjean’s crash there was a thorough investigation into why the fire occurred and how it might be prevented. New requirements were made, and implemented. Maybe they didn’t apply here but it’s the same attitude and process that meant the halo was fitted, the catch fencing was positioned and adequate, the equipment and personnel were on hand to attend to him and much more.
We should be praising the people who analyse the risks, propose solutions, legislate for them and those who implement them. But there will be many more posts on this forum with “boo hoo the cars are too heavy” than “well done Everyone for keeping the drivers safe”.
He is lucky to be racing when safety is taken seriously.
I agree it's due to learning from past accidents that cars have become this safe. I do think there are a few takeaways from this crash as well though.
That catch fencing looks mighty close to the barrier. Sure there was no fire now, but there will always be a possibility of fire IMO (even on Grosjean's crash people were surprised that his car caught fire) and that catch fencing being that close to the barrier pretty much sandwiched the car making extraction harder.
One thing I don't understand is how the roll hoop also seems to have been sheared off. I don't remember this being the case on older F1 cars. When this car rolled, the only thing protecting Zhou's head was the Halo.
Some taller drivers did have their heads sticking out a bit from the Halo which brings me to how the roll hoop vs driver's head was measured:
In Zhou's crash, I do think the roll hoop failed to do its job. It's not meant to be a collapsible component. Perhaps the 3D printed hoops (like in the Alfa) are not as good.