Tyre marks show F1 halo a life saver
Fernando Alonso’s McLaren car spiralled into the air and bounced – yes, bounced – on top of Charles Leclerc’s Sauber during a dramatic first-lap crash in the Belgian Grand Prix won by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Both Formula One drivers walked away unscathed from the incident yesterday, with the new ‘‘halo’’ protective device surrounding Leclerc’s cockpit appearing to save him from a serious head injury.
‘‘I don’t know how it would have ended up without it. I am happy it was there,’’ said Leclerc, a 20-year-old driver from Monaco.
‘‘It all happened very quickly. At the time, I knew there was an orange car, I thought it was Fernando. I felt the impact, but it wasn’t that big in the car. I was lucky.’’
Motorsport governing body FIA made the head protective device mandatory in F1 this year to protect drivers from potentially fatal impacts such as loose tyres barrelling at high speed, other flying debris and – in this case – one car landing on another.
‘‘What is clear is the significant tyre marks on the chassis and the halo,’’ FIA race director Charlie Whiting said. ‘‘It doesn’t take much imagination to think the tyre marks could have actually been on Charles’ head.’’
The FIA has been looking at ways to improve cockpit protection and limit the risk of head injuries, after French F1 driver Jules Bianchi died in July, 2015, and British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson died a month later.
In the crash at the Spa circuit, Leclerc’s head would most likely have been hit, if not for the halo.
‘‘[Alonso’s car] would probably have made contact with his head,’’ Whiting said.
Alonso, who was sent airborne by Nico Hulkenberg’s Renault ploughing into the back of his car, was thankful no-one was harmed.
‘‘It’s good proof [for the halo]. We didn’t need any proof, but it’s a good thing.’’
The halo forms a semi-circular barrier around the driver’s helmet in the front half of the cockpit, protecting the head without completely closing the cockpit. When first tested ahead of 2016, drivers were split as to whether they liked it with some – such as four-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton – criticising it on aesthetic grounds.
New Zealand driver Brendon Hartley missed out on the points again, finishing 14th, a disappointing effort after he had qualified 11th and survived the opening lap carnage.