Hans

[John]

What do u think about the new HANS device in F1?

I see this is whats getting the blame for RBs crash according to Ceefax the other day:

Quote from the beeb........
Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello has blamed Formula One's new head and neck protection system for his crash in the Australian Grand Prix.
"It was really hurting me and I lost concentration," the Brazilian told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

"Even if I had not gone off, I would have struggled to get to the end of the race, the pain was unbearable."

The new device, a carbon-fibre collar worn on the shoulders and connected to the helmet by tethers, has become mandatory this season despite complaints from drivers.

any opinions?

[Reynard]

I certainly think the HANS device will prevent a lot of head and neck injuries in the event of a frontal collision. Anything that improves the driver safety can only be a good thing. Something like the HANS takes getting used to, but most people seem to have coped with it very well.

The trouble is, drivers will moan and whine about extra restrictions - until someone hits the wall and walks away unscathed from a crash that would otherwise have caused them serious injury. There's been the same attitude in F1 over improvements in a driver's personal safety equipment right since the beginning i.e. seat belts, fireproof clothing, helmets etc. You only need to have a look at the derision Jackie Stewart had to put up with when he was racing with all the latest safety equipment - every other driver thought he was a big girl's blouse...

In NASCAR, the use of a HANS or a Hutchens Device is compulsory and has been since Dale Earnhart's fatal crash at Daytona. It is also compulsory in ASCAR and last season, I heard no one complain about that. About 75% used the Hutchens, while the remainder used HANS - and the drivers were happy to have that additional piece of equipment.

The trouble is, in F1 there isn't the option of a choice, but I would think that most drivers in F1 would use the Hutchens if given that opportunity. For starters it is probably more comfortable and it is lightweight, and works by using the seatbelts and d-rings on either side of the helmet to keep the head square on the shoulders.

Costwise, it is a lot cheaper than HANS, but the downside of the Hutchens is that once you hit the wall, it will stretch, rendering it useless. Therefore you have to treat it as a throwaway measure. But that £200 webbing system has proved instrumental in preventing some quite serious head injuries.

I think F1 drivers will come round to using HANS or an equivalent system. To blame it for a crash I think is a little bit much, considering the drivers I've spoken to about the Hutchens or HANS in UK racing seem to have no problems with it.

[Paul Rayner]

James Thompson had a big crash in the first round of the 2000 BTCC season which he blamed on the banning of tyre warmers - he said it was more dangerous to be out there on cold tyres. Simple fact was that it was just a difference he needed to get used to and now he, and all the other drivers, have done.

Changes happen, you need to get used to them, and drivers have to adapt the HANS system to make it work. David Coulthard showed his personal improvement to it in the Australian GP TV coverage. Drivers should stop complaining about it and start working on it, because one day one of them will only be alive because of it.

[bramble]

How many injuries will it stop in F1 though? It is believed that the last serious accident in F1, in 2001, when Bernoldi crashed into the tire wall which fell on his head: if he had been weaing the HANS device he would have been killed, with the weight of the tires snapping his neck, instead of what actually happened and his head was pushed down into the cockpit.

[touring fan]

It's a bit of a difficult situation because every crash is different and in some cases it would help and some cases it wouldn't. I think blaming the device for a crash is a poor excuse, he had as much time as anyone else to sort out a comfortable way of wearing it. If David Coulthard came up with the idea of putting some padding under it then the others should have though of it too.

[Alan]

Can't help thinking that if it hurt him in the race it would have also done so in practise - but was he wearing it then? Surely so - but maybe not.

I'm no expert, but I can't see either devise doing any harm. They just need to be set up carefully like anything else.

Both were used at ASCAR last year and I don't recall any complaints from the drivers. The Hutchens devise did seem to predominate though (or was that my imagination - Reynard probably counted them!!)

[Ed- the MG fan]

In winter testing both Highfeld and Frenzten said the HANS was not all discomforting, but also annoying ruining thier confidence. Nick Highfeld said before the season opener that he wouldn't be suprised if he or any of the other cars crashed due to a lack of consectration from using the device