The Guany Zhou accident, which took place immediately after the start of the British Grand Prix, saw the Alfa Romeo Sauber driver take a big risk when his car, hit in the rear right by George Russell’s Mercedes, overturned and then finish his race beyond the protective barriers.
In the impact against the asphalt first and then the gravel the roll bar of the car tore and only the halo saved Zhou from important consequences.
Immediately after the accident, the Alfa Romeo Sauber’s roll bar ended up under the magnifying glass. The Swiss team, in fact, is the only one that uses a blade device on the C42 to obtain aerodynamic advantages and the FIA has launched an investigation in collaboration with the team which was discussed in yesterday’s meeting with the technical directors of the teams. took place at the technical advisory committee of the FIA, where the porpoising problem was also discussed.
Regarding this investigation, the FIA stated: “The technical advisory committee also discussed the serious accident involving Guanyu Zhou at Silverstone. The teams have confirmed their readiness to introduce more stringent roll bar measures for 2023 and the Federation is committed to completing the relevant analyzes and communicating the new requirements for roll bar safety to the teams ”.
The relevant article of the Technical Regulation 2022 states: “The main structure must pass a static load test the details of which are given in Article 13.3.1. In addition, each team must provide detailed calculations that clearly demonstrate that the structure is capable of to bear the same load when the longitudinal component is applied in the direction of travel “.
Article 13.3.1 contains numerous details on how the tests must be conducted and the loads that must be respected.
The accident involving Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42 at the start of the race
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Speaking in Austria last weekend, AlphaTauri technical director Jody Egginton confirmed that the matter will be up for discussion after Zhou’s accident.
“I believe that the technical advisory committee will discuss this, because whenever there is an accident involving safety, the group of engineers, together with the FIA, get together and discuss it.”
“I think it’s a good thing. I’m sure the FIA and Alfa Romeo will be able to provide feedback and there will be a sensible discussion.”
When asked about the choice of design adopted by Alfa Romeo Sauber, Egginton replied: “The last time I was involved in a project that involved a roll bar of this type, I think it was 2011. I remember the reasons that prompted me to do it, and they were specific “.
“Obviously all the teams have to pass the same test, but I think these are the topics that will be raised at the next meeting to see how to proceed and what the FIA’s point of view is.”
Paul Monaghan, chief engineer of Red Bull, confirmed that all teams can learn from the Silverstone crash.
“I think it would be a bit remiss of us not to look,” Monaghan said. “We have a technical advisory committee on the way and I’m pretty sure the FIA will have carried out an investigation, probably with the help of Alfa Romeo itself.”
“We are open to receiving questions and will contribute in the best possible way for the good of the sport. It is not an exclusive interest.”
“I would rather wait for the FIA to share the survey data. Are there any criteria by which we can evaluate all cars fairly? Would all cars be able to withstand the imposed loads or not? This is an aspect that needs to be thoroughly examined “.
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