|
From then on,
things moved quickly. In 1979, Lauda, Carlos Reutemann and Mario Andretti
competed in overalls made of five layers of fireproof material, as used by
NASA for astronauts’ suits. Nowadays, not only the overalls but also the
boots, underwear, gloves and face masks are all made of the special
synthetic fibre, Nomex. It is so resistant to heat and fire that drivers in
a Nomex-3 overall can survive 35 seconds in temperatures of 850°C, which is
roughly equivalent to the heat in a house fire. This material also protects
the driver against caustic gases and acids.
Another advantage of Nomex is its low weight. A racing overall – which these
days normally consists of three layers of fireproof material – weighs
scarcely 1.9 kilograms and every suit is tailor-made for the driver with the
help of ultra-modern 3D computer programs. There is even space for a few
small concessions in the interests of comfort: to make sure the overall does
not cling or pull anywhere, a particularly flexible material is used for the
shoulder area and the innermost of the three layers does not have any seams.
Breathable materials are also used in the production of the overalls, which
have varying thicknesses depending on the particular race. Each driver uses
approximately 16 suits per season.
In passenger cars, too, the protection of the occupants has also reached an
extremely high level over a period of many years. The safety of motorcycle
riders, on the other hand, is extremely difficult to ensure. “Apart from
avoiding accidents by riding carefully and defensively, the helmet is one of
the indispensable safety factors,” says Dr. Christoph Lauterwasser from the
Allianz Centre for Technology (AZT). Even so, no motorbike rider should rely
solely on a helmet for safety reasons. Lauterwasser adds: “Good protective
clothing with protectors should also be taken for granted.”
In Formula 1, every helmet is a unique item, individually tailored to the
respective driver with great technical effort and expense. First, the
driver’s head is scanned to create a life-size model, and the next step is
similar to how the ancient Egyptians worked on their mummies: the model head
is wrapped, layer by layer, with 120 mats of the high performance fibre T
800, where every thread consists of about 12,000 microthreads, each of which
is about 15 times thinner than a human hair. The total length of all the
threads processed in one helmet is approximately 16,000km.
The exact composition of the 17 layers is a well-guarded business secret for
every helmet manufacturer. The specialists will only reveal the three main
substances: carbon fibre for the rigidity, fire-resistant aramide and
polyethylene, which is also used for bullet-proof vests. Added to these – as
we all know – are aluminium, magnesium and, as a binding agent, epoxy resin.
The helmets are extremely durable, but with a weight of about 1.2kg they are
still relatively light and so reduce the strain on the neck and shoulder
muscles of the drivers on tracks with particularly high G-force loads.
In the autoclave, the individual layers are bonded to one another and
hardened under high pressure and at a constant temperature of 132°C. Parts
subject to exceptional loads, such as the underside and the visor cut-out,
are additionally reinforced using aluminium and titanium. The interior
padding consists of two layers of fireproof Nomex. The helmet is subjected
to an 800°C flame for 45 seconds in the compulsory fire test. During this
time, temperatures inside the helmet may not exceed 70°C. The ventilation
system is designed to allow about 10 litres of fresh air to flow into the
helmet’s interior. A filter cleans the air of even the finest motor oil,
carbon and brake dust particles.
A good view even in the most difficult situations is vital for the drivers.
The three millimetre thick helmet visor made of fire-resistant polycarbonate
ensures that the driver can always see clearly. The visor’s tint adjusts in
fractions of a second to changes in the lighting conditions, such as in the
famous tunnel in Monaco. To test its protective qualities, projectiles are
shot at the visor at 500km/h and the impact marks must not exceed a depth of
2.5mm. Given all this high technology, it is hardly surprising that the
visor is heated – even though Formula 1 takes a break during winter.
Allianz Safety Check: Circuit de Nevers by Mark Webber, WilliamsF1 driver:
“This track alternates very dynamically for the drivers between quick and
slow sections and so is more demanding than it appears at first sight. Some
of the corners run over small hills, so it is very difficult to see the
apex. Because the tarmac is unusually smooth, we drivers always have the
feeling that we can go right to the limit. So you have to be careful that
you don’t overdo it. The whole thing also gets pretty tricky when it rains.
In that case, the smooth surface can quickly become a problem.” |
)
