gotta say after watching kubica s crash the cars are remarkable strong considering the force of his impact great to know he is ok Image Unavailable, Please Login
In one of my physics classes we watched a documentary on race cars and their strength. It's amazing all of the engineering that goes into the cars, but they are in fact quite brittle. The key of their safety is that they shatter so easily. The force of impact is distributed through the destruction of the car, thus directing it away from the driver. I find it pretty ironic that they actually make a car to disintegrate as a safety measure for drivers.
Yeah pretty cool stuff. The part that worries me most about F1 safety is the head being exposed. On a clip I swear to my bosses that Kubi's head hit the ground while the car was tumbling. I want to see his helmet. As someone who's broken their back and then pulled every muscle and tendon in their neck, I can say, I feared for his safety there. Damn that looked bad at speed. As others have said, him being mostly uninjured makes it a good day.
I was also scared for him when I saw his head bouncing around inside the cockpit. Hopefully they will analyze the accident to see if any more safety measures can be taken. It's already been said that the wall was at a horrible angle and should be changed. I'd be interested to see how the Hans device worked for him.
As good as th HANS device is, it won't keep your head from being crushed or ripped off. When I saw that head connect with the ground I winced and said "Jesus" out loud and in colour. Not too many things concern me about driving fast or in dangerous circumstances but that head exposure in those rollovers really makes my Spidy sense tingle.
are u sure? because, there this thing right infront of the driver's steering wheel, like a shark fin thing, which is supposed to prevent the driver's head from making contact to the ground if in case he's in a crash.
Uhhh what? Here's a pic of the 2007 Ferrari: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/ferrari_f2007_launch_6.jpg
here's a pic. see that shark fin thing in front of the steering? the role of that is to ensure that incase a driver flips upside down, he's head will make no contact with the ground. [img=http://imajr.com/th/a111111111111111111111111111.bmp_110562.jpg]
Look at the angle you have there. If that tiny little bump in front of the driver was to come into play, the drivers legs would already be ripped of along with the rest of the car. The roolhoop over the head and near to the nose of the car is what keeps the head off the ground. That's why Kubi's head was in question today. The crash destroyed the front of the car and then the rolls were much more "in the driver's face". I can't imagine that tiny little bump doing any good in terms of protection.
You can't be serious?! That looks like a retarded bobsled! I hope they tweak the design before paint!
Ahhhhh that's it! You probably watched a documentary on how old VHS machines were made. The tapes used to pop out of the top instead of the front. There, that's settled.
Actually, Peter Winsor, the F1 journalist that does post-race commentary, explained how it works. It was during one of those Redbull technical explanations similar to the Allianz safety focus. The little sharkfin and rollbar/intake has a regular piece of wood laid on it. If the driver's helmet touches that line, they can't race and have to adjust the seating. It's to make sure his helmet won't hit the ground in case of a roll over.
That's understandable but the tiny piece in front doesn't touch in a standard rollover. In the crash with Kubi, after the front was torn off and it started rolling that piece still wasn't keeping the car "afloat", the framework was. It just so happened that that was near where the car was now touching the ground while upside down. Still, I think the rollhoop should be raised.
