The FIA surprised everyone with a press conference held in the past Great Prize of Hungary with which she explained the reasons that had decided to approve the Halo and moved some of the regulatory developments in this regard.
In the (aerodynamic, the FIA explained that it would allow total freedom of design in a perimeter of two inches around the top ring. From there, the teams will have to think of the best way to take advantage of this freedom.
But some of the strong men of the Formula 1 have expressed their serious doubts about that it can be used to improve the aerodynamic performance of the cars, considering that the only thing you can get is to minimize the negative impact of the Halo in the flow of air circulating in the direction of the inlet of the engine and the top of the pontoons and the hood motor.
Nick Chester, Technical Director of Renault, believes that “it’s good to have something to give the pilot more protection, everyone is looking for that and want to put it in the car for that reason”, discarding, therefore, that there is space to look for other reasons.
The latest version of Halo’s proven in the tests in Hungary has a top ring flat on its front.
The british engineer believes that “in terms of the aerodynamic, if something causes are drawbacks and, in any case, we will work to accommodate the car. So I don’t think that we are going to see big tricks, I think that only seeks to place it in the car and that is best possible for pilots”.
Paul Monaghan, chief engineer of Red Bull, is of the same opinion and believes that, in addition to minimizing the impact of aerodynamic of the Halo, maybe you can slightly improve the aerodynamics, though it is not the purpose of the measure adopted by the FIA. “we Will make use of the fairing to reduce the drawbacks of the aerodynamic and (improve) the aesthetics of the Halo. If we can have aerodynamic devices to reduce the impact of aerodynamic, what we will do. And if you can improve the aesthetics slightly, also, but have not been approved for that reason”.
Finally, Paddy Lowe, Technical Director of Williams, supports the view of their colleagues, considering that it is only when the regulation is officially published we will be able to draw definitive conclusions. “The final rulemaking has not been published yet, so I don’t know exactly what opportunities we will have, but I think that there will be space to minimize their impact on the aerodynamic and we will try to find a good cosmetic”.
in the tests In Hungary, Mercedes tested a new version of Halo much more stylized and with the top ring more flat.
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