FIA deserve all the praise as Halo saves more drivers

Highlights from the British Grand Prix

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Two separate incidents at Silverstone on Sunday could have resulted in very different outcomes had the F1 Halo not been introduced five years ago.

Two drivers were able to walk away from terrifying incidents during Sunday’s racing action at Silverstone, very much owing life and limb to the never-ending push for safer cars which the FIA has made the most important facet of its ethos towards single-seater racing.

While the negatives of the push for safety have resulted in ever-weightier machines, it is a small price to pay when you consider Zhou Guanyu and Roy Nissany have both been able to reunite with their families unscathed after their terrifying incidents on Sunday.

Nissany, racing recklessly against Dennis Hauger during Sunday morning’s Formula 2 race, pushed Hauger off the track as the pair approached the Vale corner. Hauger slid through the gravel and was vaulted through the air when he drove over a sausage kerb, his car making direct impact with the side of Nissany’s car – at head height. Replays clearly showed the Halo cockpit safety device did its job in protecting Nissany’s head as it deflected the weight of an F2 car, full of forward momentum, up and into the air – a tremendous amount of force that the safety device coped with perfectly.

Just hours later, the Halo proved invaluable again during Zhou Guanyu’s incident at Turn 1 at the start of the F1 race. Sliding upside down through the gravel, Zhou was saved from serious injury – or worse – by the Halo acting as his last defence against the barriers after his roll hoop had failed during the initial impact.

Taken for precautionary