Car racing is a thrilling sport with a huge following across the globe. However, like any adventure sport that involves high speed, there are a lot of risks involved. That is particularly true for high-speed F1 races. In its early years, F1 racing didn’t have many safety regulations and the stakes were even higher.
This trend continued till the mid of the century, when seatbelts, medical teams and full-face helmets were made compulsory. Continuous progress was made after that for the installation of driver and vehicle safety equipment. Currently, a wide range of safety equipment is installed in vehicles and worn by drivers to ensure their safety.
Let’s discuss the F1 safety equipment that saves the driver’s life in case of an accident.
Formula 1 Safety Equipment
A lot of progress has been made in terms of safety in Formula 1 cars. The core purpose of these vehicles is to save the driver’s life in case of fatal accidents.
Here is the list of equipment essential for safety in F1.
Monocoque Cell
The monocoque cell also known as a survival cell is a handmade cell to protect drivers from fatal injuries. It is manufactured from multiple layers of carbon fibre with aluminium sheets sandwiched in between.
Carbon fibre is used because of its lighter weight and strength. Whole-cell is made from fibre weighing around 35 kgs. The safety cell reduces the external impact on the driver’s body and thus reduces the external impact on drivers.
Kevlar Fuel Tank
The fuel tank of F1 cars was made from metal that was more prone to rupture. The leaking fuel tanks increase the fire incidents during accidents. To reduce these fire incidents, F! cars were featured with army-grade Kevlar fuel tanks.
These tanks are prepared from Kevlar, which is a strong synthetic fibre prepared from a chemical compound named poly-para-phenylene terephthalamide. Kevlar tanks are stronger than steel and fireproof: therefore, they are considered more secure than metal tanks.
Halo
Halo is a piece of F1 safety equipment introduced in 2017 and has been mandatory since 2018. It is a ‘Y’ shaped structure manufactured from aluminium or titanium, layered with carbon fibre. Halo is installed over the cockpit and survival cell to protect drivers from a head injury in case the vehicle rolls off. It also avoids large pieces hitting the driver directly.
Tecpro Guardrails
The guardrails are installed at certain points of the track to survive impacts when F1 cars hit them at higher speeds. Traditionally, Armco-guardrails were used, but these rails are outdated now. Currently, Tecpro guardrails are used, which are considered more efficient compared to the traditional ones.
These barriers are manufactured from polyethene contact walls that are hollow from the inside. These rails are connected through double nylon straps, providing it additional strength. These types of guardrails are used on F1 race tracks. Whereas the NASCAR and IndyCar race tracks are using the SAFER barrier system.
Roll Hoops
The roll bar was first introduced in the 1960s and is considered one of the most successful pieces of safety equipment. It is still widely used in vehicles participating in major F1 races such as F1 Grand Prix 2022. Recently, the F1 cars have been equipped with two different roll hoops. The front roll hoops are located behind the steering wheel and the rear roll hoop is present behind the driver’s seat. The roll hoops provide protection to the driver’s head and neck when a vehicle is rolled over. It is a roll-over protection system for F1 cars.
Head and Neck Support (HANS)
HANS is a horseshoe-shaped collar that is fitted on the driver’s shoulder under the seat belt attached to the helmet. It is specially designed to avoid vertebrae stretching and also supports the head of the driver. The absence of HANS can create direct pressure on the driver’s region and result in severe injuries.
The Driver’s Safety Kit
Despite all the safety efforts, drivers are at risk in every accident. To increase drivers’ safety, different regulations were introduced, including driver’s safety suits and F1 racing helmets.
Drivers are obligated to wear a wire-proof racing suit consisting of gloves, shoes, socks, a balaclava and three layers of fire-proof fabric covering from head to toe. This suit is manufactured from aramid fibres, generally Nomex. Nomex is a polymer of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen that provides it extra heat resistance and strength.
Along with these racing suits, racing helmets that are specifically designed by selected companies for each driver are also used. The companies provide custom-built helmets to drivers as per their head dimensions. Furthermore, drivers also wear goggles/spectacles to secure their eyes from external damage. In case of poor eyesight, F1 safety car regulations permit drivers to wear contact lenses for better vision.
These were some of the popular F1 safety equipment that saved the driver’s life. The F1 races require additional safety equipment because of their higher-agility vehicles. These vehicles are specially designed for racetracks and very few of them have street-legal status. However, other supercars and sports cars are street-legal and available in the market. If you are also interested in driving street-legal supercars, browse through some of these used cars for sale in the UAE and upgrade your old car.
Stay tuned to UAE’s top auto blog for more information on safety in F1 cars.
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