Zhou Guanyu and Roy Nissany were spared serious injury or worse this past weekend, as both were involved in massive accidents, separately in Formula 1 and Formula 2.
The images of Zhou’s upturned Alfa Romeo and Nissany, with the Formula 3 title holder Dennis Hauger smashing head height through the side of his DAMS F2 machine are chilling reminders of what could have been if not for the necessary implementation of ‘The Halo’.
📸 Zhou’s accident was scary, and ended with the Alfa driver stuck behind the barrier(below).
📸 Nissany was penalised for this F2 accident, but had a lucky escape after being hit by PREMA’s Hauger.
Around 2015, I assume in a small office in FIA headquarters, a meeting went on about improving safety in racing after the tragic passing of Jules Bianchi.
📸 Jules Bianchi testing with Ferrari.
Bianchi had suffered a crash in typhoon weather at Suzuka, Japan. Without going into too much detail, Bianchi suffered a severe head injury as a result of the accident, prompting the FIA to take action.
‘The Halo’ and the ‘Aeroscreen’ were the two ideas trialled by the FIA on F1 cars, with the latter now widely used in the IndyCar series in America.
📸 Red Bull trial the aeroscreen, now seen in IndyCar(below).
For those who don’t know it, ‘The Halo’ is a 9 kilogram piece of titanium that surrounds the driver’s head, and is connected to the car at three points. It is capable of withstanding a weight pressure of 12,000kg. The minimum weight of the 2022 iteration of F1 car is 798kg.
At it’s inception and even till fairly recently, the introduction of ‘The Halo’ was greeted with skepticism from fans and drivers with differing concerns.
📸 A high number of other series feature the halo, including F2, F3, FRECA and Formula E(above).
Some believed the addition would ruin the traditional look of the single seater cars, while some worried about obscured driver views.
High profile accidents have changed the perception for most, with the device hailed as ‘life-saving’, most notably after Romain Grosjean’s fireball Bahrain crash in 2020, and after Zhou and Nissany’s accidents this past weekend.
📸 Grosjean miraculously climbs out of the flames of his 2020 accident.
From a personal point a view, The Halo is now an essential part of single seater cars, and let’s be honest, it doesn’t look bad. Whoever came up with it is a hero, a lifesaver, and deserves a raise and all the acclaim.
Top image: Grosjean’s survival cell, complete with the life saving halo.
📸 Image credit(s): Formula Motorsport Limited, NTT IndyCar, Formula E, FIA, Sky Sports.
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