General
Ericsson: "IndyCar has made the right decision, unlike F1"
- GPblog.com
The choice of the halo in Formula 1 initially received a lot of criticism, but nowadays it is almost impossible to imagine the sport without it. According to Marcus Ericsson, F1 would be better of if they have chosen the aeroscreen.
It would ruin the complete appearance of a Formula 1 car, the drivers would no longer be recognisable and above all there were doubts about the safety it offers. The Halo got a lot of critisim just before it was introduced. Howver, nowadays it's however almost impossible to imagine Formula 1 without the protective measure.
The halo wasn't the only option that could protect drivers from debris. The aeroscreen of Red Bull Advanced Technologies was also available. The American IndyCar did opt for the latter. "It's actually a halo, but with a transparent screen. I think the aeroscreen is a step better," explains IndyCar driver Marcus Ericsson to The Race.
The former Formula 1 driver thinks that Formula 1 and other European racing categories will eventually switch to the aeroscreen. "The halo is of course good against big debris, but when it comes to small pieces it's a lot less protective than the aeroscreen".
Right choice of IndyCar
The Swede mentions an incident that took place recently on the Iowa Speedway in IndyCar. "When the crash between Herta and Veekay happened, I was focused on not getting involved in the incident and avoiding the cars. I told the team that some debris hit my car, but I didn't think it was anything serious. It wasn't until I saw the replays that I noticed that it was a big piece that hit my aeroscreen. It didn't look good, but it did look good that I had the aeroscreen there."
"It shows once again that the IndyCar has made the right choice to introduce the aeroscreen. It has already shown in a short time that it is here to stay," Ericsson concludes.