Halo tests have been 'pretty scary'
Halo tests have been 'pretty scary'
Mercedes chief engineering officer Matt Morris has described the recent halo tests as 'pretty scary' due to the amount of weight which is being put on the new safety device, following the reveal last week that it has the strength to withhold a double-decker bus.
From the 2018 campaign onwards, F1 vehicles will be required by regulation to have the new device, which is designed to protect drivers from any falling debris following crashes.
Due to the materials it will have to withstand, it needs to be extremely sturdy, and Morris has described some of the tests as 'pretty scary' due to the weight that is being set upon the halo.
"It has been a big challenge. The loads are very very high," the Mercedes engineer said.
"We always knew it was going to be a challenge and we invested some time and money up front to do quite a lot of test pieces.
"Obviously you don't want to build a complete chassis, but we built various test pieces where we had dummy Halos, parts of Halos, full Halos, and testing how the interfaces would behave.
"We found some issues but we planned early enough so we could react to those issues and catch the main chassis, which we did.
"It was close. I am not saying we breezed through it, and there were quite a few heart-stopping moments when doing the static test that comes in from an oblique angle – where it takes the weight of a London Bus.
"When you see that test going on, it is pretty scary with the amount of load going in there, which it is designed to do."
Due to the challenges that have come with trying to incorporate the halo device, Morris thinks some teams may struggle to get everything perfect before the season gets under way.
"It will be interesting to see if anyone has any problems," he continued. "It is a pretty tough test so it wouldn't surprise me if people have issues.
"I hope they don't because we want everyone in winter testing, but it has been an interesting challenge."
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Hamilton sends strong message over Gaza deaths
- 1 hour ago
F1 giants announce name change with IMMEDIATE effect
- 2 hours ago
Horner admits Red Bull at MAJOR disadvantage with new rules
- 3 hours ago
Horner reveals 'unhuman' Verstappen secret
- Yesterday 19:57
Sainz manager speaks out on 'game playing' over contract
- Yesterday 18:57
EXCLUSIVE: World champion reveals 'logical' winning F1 Hamilton combination
- Yesterday 17:57
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860