The FIA has revealed a new top-end helmet standard aimed at bringing increased protection for drivers in all major championships.

It follows over a decade of research to create the ultimate standard for helmet manufacturers to meet to further increase safety.

The latest standard, called FIA 8860-2018, outlines the design and performance requirements that the helmet manufacturers must achieve to provide equipment for the FIA's top series. It will be mandatory for Formula One from 2019 and in other championships soon after.

The new helmets will offer a number of safety benefits, including advanced ballistic protection, increased energy absorption and an extended area of protection for drivers.

"The current top-end helmets are already the safest in the world," said FIA Safety Director, Laurent Mekies, "but the new standard will take them to the next level. It is important for all of our safety research that we continually strive to improve and this is why we are requiring all manufacturers to meet this tougher standard for our championships."

Throughout the research programme, FIA researchers worked closely with F1 helmet manufacturers such as Stilo, Bell Racing, Schuberth and Arai. It is now up to these manufacturers to deliver the production versions of the new helmets for the 2019 F1 season.

"The area of testing will be expanded compared to what we currently enjoy," added Stephane Cohen, Bell Racing Helmets Chairman, "which means that the overall protection of those helmets could be considered better and as usual the FIA will be at the forefront of helmet protection technology. This will be the most advanced standard in the world without any possible discussion."

Changes based on the new standard include:

Top of visor opening lowered by 10mm to incorporate advanced ballistic protection that achieves unprecedented levels of safety during impact from debris.

Extended areas of protection on sides to offer compatibility with latest single-seater headrests and closed car seat-side head protection systems, ensuring energy management is exactly where headrests are positioned.

Helmet shell construction using advanced composite materials to ensure it is not only tough but also resistant to crushing and penetration.

Test methods include variable crash speeds to account for different accidents and a range of weights to account for different mass headforms.

Toughened Tests

Under the new FIA 8860-2018 standard all helmets must withstand the following tests:

Standard impact: Helmet impact at 9.5m/s. Peak deceleration on 'driver's head' shall not exceed 275G.

Low velocity impact: Helmet impact at 6m/s. Peak deceleration shall not exceed 200G with a maximum average of 180g.

Low lateral impact: Helmet impact at 8.5m/s. Peak deceleration shall not exceed 275G.

Advanced Ballistic Protection: A 225g metal projectile fired at 250km/h. The peak deceleration shall not exceed 275G.

Crush: A 10kg weight falling 5.1 metres onto helmet. Lateral and longitudinal tests. The transmitted force should not exceed 10 kN.

Shell penetration: A 4kg impactor dropped onto helmet at 7.7 m/s.

Visor penetration: Air rifle fires 1.2g pellet at visor. Pellet must not penetrate the interior of the helmet.

Visor coating: Transmitter test to ensure colouration and vision is not significantly changed or distorted.

Retention system: Roll-off test and dynamic test to ensure strength of chin strap and its attachments.

Chin guard linear impact: Impact test with full headform at 5.5m/s. The peak deceleration shall not exceed 275G.

Chin guard crush: Hammer hits chin guard and measures ability to keep impact away from the head.

FHR mechanical strength: Test to ensure high strength of attachment points for Frontal Head Restraints.

Projection and surface friction: Test to ensure helmet surface uniformity and that friction is minimised. Shell surface also subjected to BARCOL hardness test for resistance to penetration.

Flammability: Helmet exposed to 790 C° flame; it must self-extinguish once flame is removed.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Batman, 07/06/2018 14:08

"now more seriously ... I think that every upgrade to safety is, obviously more than welcomed ... it's an obligation in memory of those who have lost their lives on every motorsport categories, sometimes completely in vain. Just dont forget that safety must be available for everyone, independent of age and money."

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2. Posted by JogonUK, 07/06/2018 12:30

"All of the technical spec of the new Helmet regime goes right 'over my head'

Maybe thats the points?"

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3. Posted by FormerF1Fan, 07/06/2018 11:27 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 07/06/2018 12:40)

"Houston to Challenger... Houston to Challenger... all of the Halos and Helmets in this world (and the next) will not bring Jules Bianchi back to life, nor will it absolve you of the need to have worried less about the TV coverage and have deployed the safety car at that time... Why don't you spend your "valuable" time bringing good (i.e. close) racing back, instead of listening to publicity-conscious but technically-vacuous prophets and witchdoctors, then heading off in exactly the opposite direction. "

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4. Posted by FormerF1Fan, 07/06/2018 11:18 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 07/06/2018 12:40)

"This comment has been reported and removed.

Reader who reported the comment writes: "this comment is cynical at best - but quite offensive really at the expense of a person who fell victim to an unfortunate accident with dramatic consequences."
"

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5. Posted by nonickname, 07/06/2018 6:50

"All of this in a car with a halo?"

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6. Posted by Batman, 07/06/2018 0:35

"Liberty should consider George Lucas as a safety and design consultant."

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7. Posted by Batman, 07/06/2018 0:26

"We know how stylish and glamour is important to F1 ... so the show will surely benefit from something more like Darth Vader's helmet with vocal filter included."

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8. Posted by Oldgit, 06/06/2018 23:45 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 07/06/2018 12:40)

"Is this all in preparation for future street races where you can crash into street "furniture" or barriers ?

On real race tracks there are other methods of slowing down the cars before they hit anything.

Or it is it that they have realised that the budget cap will mean that bits will fall off cars during the race due to cheaper materials being used ?"

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9. Posted by Mark, 06/06/2018 20:08

"Will they be affordable by club racers? A helmet should not cost the equivalent of a college loan."

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10. Posted by matra123, 06/06/2018 19:49

"This is all well, good and welcome. All we need now is a minimum standard for good taste in helmet design, instead of the low-level kindergarten painting schemes we have at the moment. "

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11. Posted by markscottuk, 06/06/2018 18:56

"Where will they stick the camera mount without compromising the protection"

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12. Posted by Ro, 06/06/2018 18:49

"and at a mere snip of £10,000 its a bargain !"

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13. Posted by -ape-, 06/06/2018 18:30 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 07/06/2018 12:40)

"" it must self-extinguish once flame is removed." So it burns like an airplane interior does"

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14. Posted by Batman, 06/06/2018 16:25

"... a real piece of military gear! We still call it F1... they call it war games."

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FIA reveals mandatory helmet for major series including F1

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