As part of a never-ending quest to improve safety, motorsport’s governing body will dig into the details of each major crash to better understand the factors that worked under it. plans to help riders and areas for improvement.
One of the aspects of the Zhou incident that is likely to receive special scrutiny is what happened to the C42’s roll ring, with images of the vehicle later showing it was ripped apart.
Still photos and video footage of Zhou show the coil failing to survive the first roll and that it was the halo and other surrounding safety structures that prevented the driver’s head from hitting the ground afterward. .
Accident involving Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42 at the start of the race
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Pictures of Motorsport
What the FIA will want to better understand is what force was exerted and the size and amount of impact the roll ring made during the sequences of the collision.
One element that stands out is Alfa Romeo is unique in the F1 grid in 2022 in running a blade-style roll structure (see below) – the concept of it has fallen out of favor over the years.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42, in the garage
Photo by: Jerry Andre / Pictures of Motorsport
Alfa Romeo returned to the blade-style solution this year without using it since 2019, a year after the halo was first introduced. A standout feature on its 2017 and 2018 challenges.
Previously, the blade-type roll-over structure was used by Mercedes in 2010 and both Force India and Team Lotus in 2011.
Compare the Mercedes W01 airbox, the full blade design is used at this race, instead of the internal compromise
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
Comparison of Force India VJM04 . side cases
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
The arrival of Mercedes’ solution in 2010 led to action from the FIA, amid concerns that, given how narrow the structure is, it could dig deep into the ground on a soft surface if the impact is not right place.
As a result, subsequent designs had to have much wider blades to comply with regulations.
In any case, the choice of a blade roll structure is preferred over a traditional rim due to two factors: enhanced aerodynamics and weight. And the latter is clearly a key factor for the teams that have been fighting to get their large numbers of cars down by 2022.
In the event of the latest breakdown, the FIA will have access to g-load sensors, telemetry data, and actual car parts to fully understand what factors are at play and whether the blade-style construction behaves differently than the more frequent scrolling. round will.
It is important to clarify that the design used by Alfa Romeo has passed the necessary crash tests imposed by the FIA.
Roll ring test
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
The requirement of the main rollover structure is to withstand loads equivalent to 60kN in the horizontal direction, 70kN in the longitudinal direction and 105kN in the vertical direction. All teams must undergo crash tests for this before their cars are allowed on the track.
One of the problems with Zhou’s incident is that it was a composite scenario of many different effects.
The roll structure was subjected to a significant load in the vertical direction, when the vehicle landed upside down. This is followed by a continuous vertical load as it scrapes along the track.
Therefore, it can be argued that it did its job completely the first time around, with the nature of the crash then shifting more to a dependency on the halo.
One aspect that can be considered for improvement is how the roll structure is bonded to the chassis and this is an important factor in determining its presence and usage in a multiple collision.
Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo C42 after the accident
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Pictures of Motorsport