The halo has been hailed for saving the life of Zhou Guanyu following his horror crash at the British Grand Prix.
The Alfa Romeo driver’s car was flipped over and skidded off the track upside down at 160mph following a multi-car pile-up before smashing over the tyre wall and into the barriers.
The 23-year-old was given a clean bill of health from the medical centre at Silverstone having amazingly come away from the accident unscathed.
Afterwards, he posted a message on social media saying, “I’m ok, all clear. Halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for your kind messages.”
The halo is made up of a curved metal bar protecting the driver’s head but was criticised by some drivers following its introduction by motorsport governing body the FIA in 2018.
But yesterday’s race winner Carlos Sainz said it had saved not just the life of Zhou but also avoided a death or serious injury when Dennis Hauger’s car landed on top of Roy Nissany’s in the earlier Formula 2 race.
Sainz said: “We sometimes criticise the FIA but you need to give it to them, how much they’ve been helping us. They’ve saved probably two lives. We need to give it to them for the amazing work in safety.”
Of Zhou’s accident, which saw the Chinese driver having to be extricated after being trapped upside down between the tyre wall and barriers, Sainz said: “When I saw it, I was completely shocked. It was incredible. The fact he came out of it is crazy. I find it incredible that you can come out of it.”
Sainz won a breathtaking race, vying for the win with teammate Charles Leclerc as well as Lewis Hamilton before the Spaniard managed to pull clear following a late safety car to recover Esteban Ocon’s stricken car.
Sergio Perez finished runner-up ahead of Hamilton, who clinched a second straight podium. And the Mexican said: “It’s been a while since we saw such an accident like that. It’s hard to see that and to try and delete it in your mind and focus on what you have to do. Well done to the FIA because we’ve come a long way.”
Drivers were lining up to praise the halo and the FIA, among them McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian said: “I saw where he flipped over out of the corner of my eye. But once I knew he was ok, I chose not to watch it. I’ll watch the replays tonight and then try to understand it. The fact he got out is a massive positive. Double thumbs-up for the halo.”
The accident brought an immediate red flag but also saw protestors from the organisation Just Stop Oil climb the fence, storm the track and perform a sit-down protest. Drivers returning to the pits had to make their way past them as police officers arrested them.
In the immediate aftermath of the race, Hamilton said: “I love that people are fighting for the planet and we need more people like them.”
But he later retracted that comment on social media. He wrote: “As we’ve seen today, this is a very dangerous sport. I wasn’t aware of the protests today and, while I’ll always support those standing up for what they believe in, it must be done safely.
“Please don’t jump onto our race circuits to protest, we don’t want to put you in harm’s way.”
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, meanwhile, called the track protest “totally irresponsible and dangerous”.
