Armco Barrier Supplies

Armco Barriers in F1

Formula 1 racing is an incredibly dangerous sport. The cars regularly reach speeds of up to 230 mph – that’s travelling at approximately 101 metres per second. Every second counts and the driver’s reaction needs to be lightning quick to respond to their surroundings.

Couple this speed with some of the cityscape circuits that the Grand Prix races take place in – Monaco, Singapore, Melbourne and London – and you can understand why safety is of paramount importance for the welfare of the drivers, spectators and the landmarks that they pass.

This is where Armco barriers come into their own.

From the late 60s, Armco Crash barriers have provided a highly effective protection solution to keep everyone safe in the event of a collision during F1 races. They proved to be so successful at reducing fatalities that they were introduced to the motorway networks as a defence against collisions.

The design of the F1 cars appears to show them to disintegrate on impact, so that injury to the driver is minimised, but the barriers can further disperse the energy of the high-speed impact so that the damage is limited.

The drivers take advantage of the design of the barriers and drive as close to them as possible to ensure that they are reaching the top speed that they can on the track. The safety testing of Armco barriers ensure that, should a vehicle connect with them, they are directed along their line, rather than flipping or turning.

Armco have transformed the safety records of F1 and are the go-to vehicle safety measurement across all areas: domestic, workplace and leisure.