Gary Anderson analyzed Guanyu Zhou .’s accident

The British Grand Prix was event-rich, but one of the most memorable episodes was the crash of Chinese Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou, which was yet another convincing confirmation of the need for safety systems such as Halo. Gary Anderson, a former race car designer and now reviewer for The Race, commented on it from a technical perspective.

In open-wheel car races, these kinds of accidents are inevitable. If two moving cars hit the wheels, one will fly up, after which possible consequences are possible.

The FIA ​​has been working to improve safety standards for many years, but it is impossible to guarantee that the driver will not suffer, although the chances of a successful outcome can of course be greatly increased.

After what happened at the start of the Grand Prix, as well as after the accident in Sunday’s Formula 2 race, which included Dennis Hauger and Roy Nissany, the federation deserves full credit for its efforts.

The FIA ​​will investigate these incidents and Alfa Romeo will analyze in detail the damage Zhou’s car has suffered, but I want to give my opinion on what happened.

It all started with George Russell sliding to the left at the start, unaware that Pierre Gasly’s car was there. It was enough to touch the wheels lightly, and George’s Mercedes began to turn to the left, and Zhou’s Alfa Romeo collided with his left front wheel, jumping into the air.

It was then that the Chinese rider realized that he was in trouble and that further actions by him were of no effect. All you had to do was lay your head on your shoulders and pray.

The first collision on the tarmac occurred when his car continued to drive in the same direction as the others, traveling at about 220-250 km/h. But because it was deployed across the track and overturned due to the inertia associated with the heavy weight of the rear section, enormous loads acted on the top roll bar and the first side impact on the tarmac was the most serious.

Judging by the video footage of the incident and the photos, it appears that this roll bar or restraint system is not working. The team from Hinwil, developing their chassis, mounts the rollbar on a single post, while all the other teams use a design that resembles a double horseshoe.

This structure is supported by four pillars, which allow a more or less even distribution of the load over all four corners of the upper part of the chassis.

Before the introduction of the Halo system, two safety arcs were installed on machines – front and rear. The front one was right in front of the handlebars and the rear one was behind the rider, where it is now. The rider’s helmet had to be about 50mm lower than a straight line between the vertices of these two arcs.

Halo now fulfills the function of the front rollbar and this system must be able to withstand the same loads. Since the front of the Halo is much higher than the front arc, this straight line is clearly above the rider’s helmet. In addition, this frontal restraint system is mounted on three pillars, so that the impact energy is evenly distributed over the chassis.

This is all good, but the direction of the load acting on the rear ROPS changed at the same time – maybe that’s why it couldn’t handle it.

All safety systems that protect the driver during the overturning of the car are subjected to very strict FIA load tests, and the Alfa Romeo C42 has passed, just like the cars of other teams.

But it is unrealistic to foresee all scenarios and all possible load vectors, so failures sometimes occur. It is important to learn from every incident and to continuously improve existing security systems.

Once the car hit the track with the wheels upside down, it stayed in that position and continued to slide forward, crossing the gravel trap. This was simply due to the safety arc being broken.

Usually this arc forms a kind of triangle, and when the car is tilted there are no flat surfaces with which it comes into contact with the track, but as soon as the tires hit the asphalt surface, there is a moment of force, which turns the car over again.

But if the arch is broken or pressed into the upper part of the chassis, the carbon elements, which are above the rider’s head, are simply “cut off” on the tarmac. Zhou is also lucky that he is not the highest rider in the championship.

When the top roll bar breaks, the weight of the chassis rests entirely on the titanium Halo, and the area the roll bar is attached to is simply shaved away. Fortunately not so bad that the fuel tank was damaged. It contains more than 100 kg of gasoline, which can lead to completely different consequences.

When accidents like this happen, it’s immediately obvious why spectators need to be far enough away from the track, especially in fast corners like Abbey.

What conclusions can be drawn from two accidents that occurred on Sunday?

Following the accident in the Formula 2 race, the FIA ​​must stop insisting on the use of high curbs designed to prevent violation of track limits. The edges of the track are marked with white lines, they are clearly visible and it is enough that at each turn there is a special observer who ensures that the riders do not cross these lines.

After all, there are linesmen in tennis. This will be a significant step forward compared to using high curbs, and racing in any series will only benefit from this.

As for Zhou’s accident, it was Halo who saved the rider. However, it is clear that the load test parameters that the safety arcs must withstand must be tightened up. It is also necessary to reconsider the directions of the loads acting on the arc and the points of their application.

When the wrecked Alfa Romeo was loaded onto a tow truck, it became clear how badly the chassis had been damaged behind the driver’s head. I’m afraid to think what could have happened if Halo hadn’t been there.

It is good that the riders were not injured in both accidents. Incidents will still occur and thanks to the constant efforts of the FIA, drivers can weather such changes without any problem. However, there was good luck in the fact that Zhou didn’t get hurt, but you can’t count on luck every time.