PICTURED: APA / AFP / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC
Jean Todt summed up in a few words what everyone thought after the spectacular accident involving Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. “Glad Halo was there,” wrote the President of the International Automobile Federation FIA on Sunday evening. For the second time in less than a year, cockpit protection in Formula 1 may have been a lifesaver – this time in Monza for the seven-time champion Hamilton.
In the accident between the two World Cup rivals, Verstappen's Red Bull landed on the Mercedes with the right rear wheel directly over Hamilton's head. He was still in shock, said Hamilton about three hours after the crash at the Italian Grand Prix. “I'm so grateful that I'm sitting here,” emphasized the 36-year-old.
The halo – in German a halo – was introduced for the 2018 season to protect drivers from flying parts or when one car slides under another, as happened in a similar way in Monza. When it was introduced, there were also critical voices at the time, both because of the optics, which initially took some getting used to, but also because the driver's field of vision is restricted.
Not for the first time, however, Halo proved to be the right and important measure to further increase the safety of pilots. At the end of November last year, Romain Grosjean raced into and even through the guardrails at high speed in the fire accident in Bahrain. The car had been broken up, but the cockpit protection had held and the French pilot was not seriously injured except for burns, especially in the hands.
