F1.....hans device

[bell]

i won't spoil the results..........

takuma was complaining of his hans device digging into his shoulders/collarbone, this was also evident by his playing with it during the race a number of times.......
then i noticed that schuey and other drivers had padding underneath their hans where taku had none, which explains his discomfort.
i'm curious why this would be overlooked by taku/honda since it seems such a simple solution......

the hans supports the helmet to the drivers restraints to support it in an impact, i don't see how padding it where it meets the shoulders could be a safty concern which would be the only logical reason to not pad it.......

your thoughts?

[Weaver]

Padding the bottom of the Hans device with a high density foam is perfectly alright. I work with the Hans device alot and in the last few years I've delt with a small number of drivers and they all use a different type of Hans. The big factor in Hans comfort is the angle it comes over the shoulders comaparied to the chest. I know that doesn't make much sense, I can't explain it very well without doing it in person. The Hans devise comes in 5 different configurations, size, angle, ect. None of these fit one of our drivers very well. It would dig into his chest when belted in. So, being the dumb@ss that he is, he would just loosen the belts. So we had Hubbert make a Hans to fit a mold we took off of his shoulders and chest. It worked much better. Seats also have alot to do with the comfort of the Hans. When I make a seat now, I really pay attention to how high the belts need to come though compaired to how low the driver needs to sit. The base of the helmet to the seat need to be enlarged. If the seat is to high compaired to the head pad or hed restraint or the belts are too low compaired to the shoulder height, the Hans will slide forward and dig into the chest or pectorals (sp?).

Anyway, foam is ok. But I wouldn't use air bladders or low density foam like Confor foam.

BTW: One female driver got breast implants and Dr. Hubbert and other doctors were quite concerned with fit and the possibility of "explosions".