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Red Bull's alternative to the 'halo' cockpit protection concept would be better for crashes like those suffered by Fernando Alonso in Melbourne. That is the claim of Dr Helmut Marko, even though the newly-unveiled alternative championed by Red Bull has already been ruled out by the FIA.
But that was before Alonso's McLaren-Honda rolled and flipped through the Albert Park gravel, coming to rest upside down and re-firing the 'halo' debate. "In the event of Alonso being hurt or the car catching fire, the halo system would certainly have been a disadvantage," Marko told the Austrian broadcaster Servus TV.
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In Melbourne, Red Bull revealed for the first time images of its alternative approach; a windshield concept that leaves an open top for the driver to escape from. Indeed, Marko claims that after a crash "the driver can get out by himself", and said that in a crash like Felipe Massa's in 2009, "halo would have in no way prevented the consequences of the accident".
Otherwise, the Red Bull concept "offers similar protection" to the halo, Marko argues, "but the DNA of formula one is not completely destroyed". "The only drawback," he added, "is the windshield in the event or oil or dirt" compromising visibility.
Massa, however, told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport that he believes the Red Bull concept might compromise visibility when a driver is looking left or right due to the two pillars. Red Bull has confirmed that the concept has at least been handed to the FIA for analysis. "With the various working groups and the like, my guess is that one of the two systems will come," said Marko. "In terms of aesthetics, most people are on our side." (GMM)
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