British Grand Prix – Ferrari took part in Silverstone practice with their SF70-H equipped with a new head protection concept, dubbed the ‘Shield’.
Formula 1 is currently looking at ways to improve safety for the driver, in the wake of several prominent motorsport accidents in recent years that resulted in head injuries. These included F1’s Felipe Massa at Hungary 2009, Jules Bianchi’s eventually fatal accident at Suzuka 2014, as well as smaller incidents like Michael Schumacher’s collision with Vitantonio Liuzzi at Abu Dhabi 2010, and Jenson Button hitting a dislodged drain cover at Monaco 2016. Justin Wilson’s fatal accident at Pocono in Indycar at the end of 2015, as well as Henry Surtees at Brands Hatch in Formula 2 in 2009 have also led the FIA to lead the exploration into head protection for single seater cars.
The pursuit of increased driver head protection has yielded the ‘Shield’ concept, which is designed to protect the driver’s head against large debris. The concept does not cover the driver’s head completely and the driver can leave the car in a similar fashion to current-specification cars.
Previous attempts at increased head protection saw the trial of the ‘halo’ device across the previous season, but due to the aesthetics of the device the concept was largely disliked by the drivers and fans.
Red Bull Racing trialled the ‘Aeroscreen’ during practice at the Russian Grand Prix:
Ferrari tested out the ‘Halo’ at several events over the course of 2016, a universally unpopular concept:
