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This Sunday Formula 1 experienced its moment of greatest fear and tension of 2020 after the serious accident of the French driver Romain Grosjean at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
On the first lap of the event, and specifically on the third turn, Grosjean ended up crashing into a retaining wall and his car quickly caught fire.
The image was shocking: the car split in two and flames on all sides. That made them fear the worst. However, in an incredible way, the Frenchman appeared in the middle of the fire alive and was able to be rescued by the FIA medical team.
As the minutes passed, the athlete’s team, Haas, confirmed that his representative had resulted “with some slight burns on his hands and ankles, but otherwise he is fine.” Incredible.
Many did not understand – and still do not understand – how Grosjean ended up practically unscathed from this episode. The answer to this question was delivered by technicians and pilots of the category regardless of shields: the “Halo”.
What is the “Halo”?
Yes, all those consulted about the terrifying moment in Bahrain agreed that the vehicle’s ‘Halo’ is the reason that the Frenchman is still alive.
What is it about? In simple words, It is a device placed in the cockpit, shaped like a ‘T’, which acts as a protector for the driver’s head.
Titanium formed, the bars of this element are capable of supporting up to 12 tons. “Equivalent to the weight of London’s iconic double-decker buses,” the BBC noted a few years ago.
The ‘Halo’ was chosen as the ‘best solution’ to the lack of protection in the head area after several years of joint investigation between the FIA and different teams. However, the obligation to implement it in all teams was included in the regulation only in 2018.
Before, in 2017, the majority used it, but it was left to the team’s choice. At that time, some criticized that the piece could put the car ‘heavier’ and that, supposedly, it took away the vision of the drivers.
The death of Jules Bianchi, the accident that changed everything
It was in 2014 that the FIA vowed to work as hard as possible and find an answer to the eternal problem of practically zero protection for the drivers’ heads.
The work was intensified by a terrible event: the tragic accident of Jules bianchi, who was left in a coma when he crashed in the Japanese GP and ended up dying in his native country 9 months later (July 17, 2015).
Bianchi lost control of his car, hit a tow truck head-on and it ended up on top of him. It was lap 43. Without ‘Halo’, sadly, there was no way to survive.
Five years after the death of Jules, his mother Christine did not hide her joy at the positive result with Grosjean: “They introduced the halo after the death of my son and it has served to save Romain’s life today.”
“I am very happy that he is well,” he said about the ‘Milgro de Bahrein’, according to El Confidencial.
“It is the best that came to F1”
As the hours passed, even Grosjean referred to what happened in the competition and, especially, celebrated the ‘Halo’.
“I was not in favor of the ‘halo’ some years ago, but I think it is the best that has come to Formula 1 and without it now I could not be talking to you,” said Grosjean in a video broadcast through social networks in which he appears in the hospital bed with both hands bandaged.
“Thank you for your messages of support and hopefully I will be able to respond to one shortly,” he joked.
📽️ Video that Grosjean has uploaded to his Instagram to thank ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uajDxyHZM2
– Laura Gómez Lucas (@lauragomezluc) November 29, 2020
Earlier, the technical director of the Haas team, Günther Steiner, welcomed the “rapid intervention of the emergency teams.”
The International Automobile Federation calculated that the flames caused by this impact were more than 130 times greater than those that come out of an airplane at the time of takeoff.
“All the systems that we have developed, the ‘halo’, the protective barriers, the belts, have worked as planned,” said Alan van der Merwe, driver of the medical car since 2009.
“Grosjean may have been beheaded”
British driver Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), winner of the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix this Sunday, described the accident as “terrifying”.
“When we get in the car, we know that we take risks and we know that in this sport there is an inherent part of risk,” Hamilton began his post-race press conference.
“It was terrifying! I am happy that the ‘halo’ has worked ”, added the English pilot in reference to the metallic arch located in the cockpit of the pilot to protect the upper part of the body.
“Romain could have been beheaded! This reminds us that it is a dangerous sport. When we are on the court, we play with the limits (…) We know them and now everyone knows it. This accident also reminds us of the incredible work of the International Automobile Federation and F1 for safety ”, he highlighted.
erstappen also referred to the Grosjean accident: “When you see the flames… it’s terrifying! One thing is for sure: the ‘halo’ has saved his life. I was not a big fan at the beginning (in 2018), but there is nothing to say about safety ”.
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