2018 United Arab Emirates Grand Prix - Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, 23-26 November

[NathanOlder]

The Halo is worth keeping for sure. Like I said before , the positives outweigh the negatives. On the subject of Schumacher in 2010, If something like that happened and the front wing or nose entered the cockpit, the Halo can't deflect the whole car upwards, the front of a car is designed to shatter and break apart to absorb an impact. So there will no doubt be masses of broken sharp carbon fibre entering the cockpit.

[astracrazy]

Could there not be some kind of release mechanism? With the shape of the car they will mostly sit at an angle upside down with the highest point cockpit opening end. If the halo could be released from the sides of the cockpit so that area drops down (i.e a pivot on top of the chassis) could this allow space for the driver?

[Big Tea]

Could there not be some kind of release mechanism? With the shape of the car they will mostly sit at an angle upside down with the highest point cockpit opening end. If the halo could be released from the sides of the cockpit so that area drops down (i.e a pivot on top of the chassis) could this allow space for the driver?

I think probably the only way would be to have a lift mechanism on the front 'bar' of the halo, but this is directly above the drivers legs. It has to be a strong point, but room for an operating would be a real problem.
As the weight of the engine is behind, it would have to be on the forward end to be stable when we consider how many parts could be missing and what the actual weight balance could be.

The risks involved with removing the Halo are too big as it may be the only thing preventing the driver being crushed.
Nothing can be done sideways as it is the crash structure and rising the back of the hoop could result in the engine components falling on the driver.

Tho only alternative I can see is an airbag system, but this has so many variables, such as where is another vehicle resting etc, it rises as many questions as it solves.

[GrandAxe]

Edit: you know what, I just had a better look. I was mistaking the intake as his helmet so my proportions were a bit off. That would have been a tight squeeze! Lets hope there is a lessons learned performed after this one.

Its an easy mistake to make mate. I hope there'll be a review too.

Anyone know, can the driver remove the HANS while in the car (inverted)?
If not, the head and neck can not bend to 'duck out' below the bar, can it?

The HANS is held in place by the seat belt, so as soon as the seat belt undone, the driver should have enough movement. It's also attached by a simple anchor that the driver can slide to attach or detach, so is easily removable too if needed.

[foxmulder_ms]

Kimi with *4* retirements finished 3rd with 251 points. If those retirements were fewer he could have been very close to Vettel. Very consistent year by him.

Hulk was best of the rest which he really deserved especially if you think of the 6-7 retirements he had.

[Edax]

Could there not be some kind of release mechanism? With the shape of the car they will mostly sit at an angle upside down with the highest point cockpit opening end. If the halo could be released from the sides of the cockpit so that area drops down (i.e a pivot on top of the chassis) could this allow space for the driver?

I could be mistaken, but I cannot remember a driver in a formula car getting out of an overturned formula car unaided. I think usually it is a very unwise thing to do. In most series, drivers are discouraged from getting out of their car at all untill the marshalls are on scene. Getting overrun by a track vehicle or getting involved in a follow-up crash has statistically proven to be a bigger danger than staying in the car. Certainly when you are upside down and you have no view on what is happening on the track.

You can think of an extreme situation like a fire. Usually drivers jump out. But when overturned I am wondering whether it is wise to try to crawl your way out through a puddle of burning fuel and risk getting stuck. Having the car lifted by the marshals IMHO would be a safer option in most cases.

[Shrieker]

Halo sure does obstruct the driver from getting out in an upside down car - that is undeniable- , but I would not like them to race without it, so it's a compromise.

This just puts more emphasis on track side intervention. Yesterday they didn't look to be on point imo.

[ringo]

Charlie Whiting has said everything was under control, and it is part of protocol to right the car if it is in an upside down orientation. I agree with this procedure. It's probably less safe for a driver to try and crawl out of an overturned car than it is to have a quick response team to flip the car over safely.
Even in tin top cars, it's best to right the car.
Explosive bolts or whatever mechanism on the halo to remove it just creates more danger and uncertainty. The FIA currently have the best solution, which is to have a rigid structure in the Halo, good track design with armco, access to all areas, and a quick response team to out fires and flip the car over. if a driver had a back injury he is in no position to drop himself out of an overturned car like a fruit bat. He will simply have to wait in his molded seat until it is extracted. So as said before, focusing on the safety procedures and inherent design of the track has been the best remedy to a situation like Hulk's today.

[ringo]

Anyhow.. about the race and the season, Hamilton was in another dimension this year. Really strong season. Very clean and somewhat very good fortune. I would not say lucky, but he has had little or no drama this year and no investigation that went against him on the track.
Today has shown again that the mercedes cars aren't that great with tyre life. Same tyre problem from 2013 continues to plague the team. Bottas' performance was an indication of how strange this car is. Lewis may have had enough years driving against Button to some how learn the tyre whisperer technique to narrowly escape the cliff.
Though we have seen a few times where even Lewis has succumb to the W09 tyre issues. So well done to him and mercedes for winning a championship in a car that to me, wasn't the best race car. It was probably the best qualifying car, which has been the case again from 2013.

[i70q7m7ghw]

The tyre issues weren't unique to Mercedes. Ferrari had their fair share of tyre issues, most notably in Monza. The Pirelli tyres this year appears to be the worst ever, drivers have to tiptoe around the track on qualifying out laps and still "lose" the tyre towards the end of the lap if they hit the start too hard.

[bosyber]

I wouldn't say 'the worst ever' but the cars are so hard to pass in general, that a one stopper becomes so much more favourable (unless your tyres just can't hold and you need to, then you might as well try something different) as to make going around slowly to eke out every bit of grip from your tyres be the best strategy in general. And it seems that due to downforce and suspension set up, Red Bull has been (at least near the end, when they had understood their car, barring failures for Ricciardo) the only of the top three teams that was really on top of that, with the others sometimes there, sometimes not.

In addition, the extra step softer tyres in combination with higher downforce and more speed in general has meant that getting the tyre just right, not too hot at the end (ie. gone), and neither too cold for the start of the quali laps, has been a real difficult thing to get right, which I believe was one of the biggest factors in who was fastest on Saturday.

[Vasconia]

Anyhow.. about the race and the season, Hamilton was in another dimension this year. Really strong season. Very clean and somewhat very good fortune. I would not say lucky, but he has had little or no drama this year and no investigation that went against him on the track.
Today has shown again that the mercedes cars aren't that great with tyre life. Same tyre problem from 2013 continues to plague the team. Bottas' performance was an indication of how strange this car is. Lewis may have had enough years driving against Button to some how learn the tyre whisperer technique to narrowly escape the cliff.
Though we have seen a few times where even Lewis has succumb to the W09 tyre issues. So well done to him and mercedes for winning a championship in a car that to me, wasn't the best race car. It was probably the best qualifying car, which has been the case again from 2013.

No really, they have faced some issues but only on certain races. In general the tyre managment has been fine. You don´t win both championships destroying the tyres like it actually happened in 2012 and the first half of 2013.

[Vasconia]

Kimi with *4* retirements finished 3rd with 251 points. If those retirements were fewer he could have been very close to Vettel. Very consistent year by him.

Hulk was best of the rest which he really deserved especially if you think of the 6-7 retirements he had.

The good point for Hulk is that he has finished the races where Renault could collect a lot of points, which the exception of yesterday where it seemed that the car was also fin. Superb performance by Carlos buy the way, his first stint was truly spectacular.

[Vasconia]

Who care about the race? Alonso is out...


Great respect for/by Hamilton and Vettel, that formation lap with the three world champions was emotive

That was a moment to keep in mind forever.

[WaikeCU]

Anyhow.. about the race and the season, Hamilton was in another dimension this year. Really strong season. Very clean and somewhat very good fortune. I would not say lucky, but he has had little or no drama this year and no investigation that went against him on the track.
Today has shown again that the mercedes cars aren't that great with tyre life. Same tyre problem from 2013 continues to plague the team. Bottas' performance was an indication of how strange this car is. Lewis may have had enough years driving against Button to some how learn the tyre whisperer technique to narrowly escape the cliff.
Though we have seen a few times where even Lewis has succumb to the W09 tyre issues. So well done to him and mercedes for winning a championship in a car that to me, wasn't the best race car. It was probably the best qualifying car, which has been the case again from 2013.

It takes an exception driver like Lewis to make the W09 work, because like you've seen Bottas is absolutely nowhere near the performance Lewis has with the car. To me the W09 wasn't the best, but now is. Compared to previous season, I don't think Merc have a dominant the car. I believe they have the car that works the best overall looking at the all the different tracks on the calendar.

Ferrari had the best car early season, but somewhat went haywire with their updates when the season was nearing the crucial stage, the finale. Add to that, bottling strategy wise as well as driver error led to losing out big time. They really have to look at themselves in the mirror.

Red Bull was already on the backfoot being down on performance with their Renault PU. With the troublesome relationship with the engine manufacturer, it certainly doesn't help themselves. They do, however, gained performance in the latter stages of the season, but weren't even in Championship contention by then. Red Bull certainly further developed a car that treats the tires very well. Probably the best of the top 3 teams. Despite releasing promising news with the work they put in with Honda, I still doubt they can truly make it happen next season.