London - High-speed crashes and shunts off-track are an all too often dangerous reality of Formula 1 races.
Millions are spent developing F1 vehicles to protect drivers in the event of a crash, hence vehicles appear to disintegrate spectacularly. Regardless of innovations in vehicle safety, crashes can result in injury or worse for drivers.
That's where Armco barriers come in.
These crash barriers are usually set in place on roads to keep vehicles within their roadway and prevent vehicles from colliding with dangerous obstacles such as boulders, sign supports, trees or bridge abutments.
In F1, the energy-absorbing barriers do the same job and are generally more effective than tyre walls at places where high-speed crashes are likely.
The 2017 season opener race weekend in Melbourne, Australia earlier in March proved to be a prime example of why these barriers are critical to the sport as there were several crashes during the second practice session.
The guys at CT Safety Barriers reveal the importance of Armco barriers in F1 with a neat infographic.
Check out the infographic below: