Six times the Formula One halo saved the day

The halo is a driver crash-protection system used in open-wheel racing series. The carbon-fibre covered titanium shield has been in use since the 2018 season and despite initial criticism from some corners, it has become the saving grace of many drivers, the latest being Guanyu Zhou. The Chinese Alfa Romeo team driver bore the biggest brunt of a multiple car crash at the start of this past weekend’s British GP.

His Alfa Romeo flipped upside down and skidded across the gravel, ending up wedged sideways between a tyre wall and metal fence. Zhou was unhurt and later posted a selfie on Twitter saying the “halo saved me today”. 

Incidences that motivated F1’s governing body to look into further safety reinforcements are plentiful, including and not limited to three-time champion Ayrton Senna’s fatal crash in 1994 at Imola, and at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix where a metal spring fell off one of the Brawn GP cars and hit Ferrari driver Felipe Massa on the helmet, fracturing his skull.

A few days before the Massa incident, Henry Surtees died in a Formula Two race when a tyre struck him in the head, forcing him to crash into a barrier. Rubens Barrichello at the time said he was worried about the future and feared for the safety of everyone. “It is not a coincidence that something happened now,” he said. “Something needs to be done.”

INCIDENT 2

Tadasuke Makino’s halo was struck by fellow Japanese driver Nirei Fukuzumi’s car in a Formula 2 race at Circuit de Catalunya, Spain in 2018. 

INCIDENT 3

At the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix Charles Leclerc’s halo was struck by Fernando Alonso’s airborne McLaren, with both of their haloes showing visible damage from the impact.  This is also when Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, an initial critic of the halo admitted that the device had spared Leclerc from injury. 

INCIDENT 4

The halo was also credited with saving the life of Australian racer Alex Peroni, after his vehicle became airborne and crashed during a Formula 3 event at Monza in September 2019 (below).

INCIDENT 5

Romain Grosjean’s accident at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix saw his car split in half and then catch fire after crashing through a metal barrier. The halo is reported to have deflected the upper section of the barrier, protecting Grosjean’s head from the impact.

Despite initial concern over drivers being unable to evacuate quickly due to the halo, as chillingly explained by Grosjean during the Netflix Drive to Survive docu-series, he was able to climb out largely unassisted, despite the car catching fire upon impact with the barrier. He emerged from the flames with burns on his hands and ankles. 

“I wasn’t for the halo some years ago, but I think it’s the greatest thing that we’ve brought to Formula 1, and without it I wouldn’t be able to speak with you today,” Grosjean said.

INCIDENT 6

The bitter rivalry between 2021 championship winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton resulted in the halo saving the British driver at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Verstappen’s wheel landed on the halo protecting Hamilton’s head, with Hamilton later saying: “It saved my neck”.