Formula 1: how “the halo” works, the aerospace safety device that saved Guanyu Zhou’s life

The Silverstone circuit could have experienced a weekend of double tragedy. Firstly, due to the accident in the Formula 2 race involving the Israeli Roy Nissany, who performed a reckless maneuver and caused the Norwegian Dennis Hauger to lose control of his vehicle, who ended up flying and hitting Nissany above. Secondly, due to the very hard blow suffered by Guanyu Zhou during the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, in which, after a collision with George Russell, the Alfa Romeo driver suffered the overturning of his car, which skidded to head down until it hits the barriers, passing them and getting trapped between the defenses and the metal mesh of the stands, with the Chinese inside the cockpit.

The scares were great, but the two pilots remained unharmed, thanks to the halo, that “Y” -shaped safety device that had generated so much controversy when it was introduced in 2018, but has already saved many lives in premier class .

“I’m fine, all right. The halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for the kind messages!” Zhou said on his Twitter account, a couple of hours after the crash that marked the start of the competition. at Silverstone.

It was the first lap of the race, a few seconds after the start. Russell veered to the left of the straight and hit the side of Zhou’s car, who flipped and slid on asphalt and leca for several meters, sending sparks past his helmet. Then he made a turn, got up and jumped the circuit protection, so he was only stopped by the bars that delimit the public access. The images were shocking.

The Chinese was trapped in the car for several minutes while the rescue team worked to free him. He came out conscious and was taken to a medical center, where they found that he had not sustained any injuries. A miracle, some will say. But the truth is that the Asian driver didn’t suffer hard blows to the head thanks to the halo.

Produced in Grade 5 Titanium, an ultra-strong alloy, not very deformable and with a low weight. Widely used in the aerospace industry, the halo was met with much skepticism by drivers and teams when the FIA, determined to increase safety for drivers, announced in mid-2017 that it would become a mandatory feature of the cars for the 2018 season. it had been tested unsuccessfully with a transparent screen, a kind of “windshield” called Aeroscreen, and then with the “shield”, a similar element. But the halo won the elections.

There have been those who have gladly accepted it – “It would be foolish and ignorant not to use such a thing”, assures Sebastian Vettel-; but the contrary voices were many. This annoyed the pilot’s view, splitting it in two. This created problems in the balance of the car and affected the aerodynamics. He was unsightly. That being composed, in principle, of three bars in the shape of a “Y”, there was no certainty that it served to protect the pilots. “If there are parts of the cars that fly, it won’t work,” said Max Verstappen at the time, one of the big critics, initially, of the new component.

Four years later, there is not a single detractor on the Grand Circus grid, because the halo – which starts from the sides of the cockpit and closes in front of the pilot above his eyes, with a thin support that is located right in the center of the pilot’s field of vision – has proved necessary and effective. And it wasn’t long after his debut that proved his worth.

It was the Belgian Grand Prix, held in August 2018, that buried all the controversy that its implementation had generated. On that date, he saved Charles Leclerc from being seriously injured by Fernando Alonso’s car. Seconds to go, Nico Hülkenberg violently hit the Spaniard’s McLaren. Alonso lost control and struck alongside Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull and overtook the Monegasque’s Sauber. One of the McLaren tires would have hit him in the head had it not been for the halo, which suffered no damage other than the chipping of the paint.

“I don’t need any proof, but it was clear it’s a good thing,” Alonso reflected, relieved not to have hurt his colleague.

“A few years ago I was not in favor of the halo, but I think it is the most beautiful thing that has been incorporated into Formula 1, and without it I would not be able to speak to you today”, assured Romain Grosjean in December 2020, after that chilling accident he suffered at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which looked like something straight out of an action movie.

On the first lap, the Frenchman’s car collided with that of Russian Daniil Kvyat (AlphaTauri), got confused and crashed into the guardrail at high speed. The car split in two and caught fire. Grosjean got out of the car, in the middle of the flames, almost half a minute after the blow, but he only suffered burns to his hands. The repetition of the sequence showed that the cockpit of his car was embedded in the guardrail and it was the halo that absorbed the impact.

“I’m glad the halo worked. Romain could have been beheaded!” Hamilton commented, perhaps not realizing that he himself would have to thank a few seasons later for introducing the device.

It is that at the Monza Grand Prix last September, the Briton saved himself from being crushed in the head by the car of Max Verstappen, who, immersed in the fight for overtaking Mercedes, touched his rival’s car to the side. But it was unfortunate that when they made contact, his car got up and overtook Hamilton. If the halo had not protected him, the Englishman would have suffered the full impact of the steering wheel of the Dutchman’s car.

Over the years, Formula 1 has evolved and increased the safety of its cars. Today, for example, special helmets are used, made with a combination of aluminum, fiberglass and Kevlar (a very resistant synthetic fiber, also used in tires). Also the HANS system (Head And Neck Support, or Head and Neck Support, in Spanish), that kind of “neck” in carbon fiber, which is fixed to the helmet and at the same time to the saddle by means of two elastic straps and prevents injury to the back and the driver bangs his head against the steering wheel in the event of an accident.

The single seat is removable and provides special support for the spine, and the fireproof suits, which saved Grosjean’s life a few years ago, are a guarantee in the event of a car fire.

The driver’s cabin, on the other hand, is covered with Zylon, a synthetic fiber produced by a Japanese company, which is 60% stronger than Kevlar. To gain size, a one-millimeter wire of Zylon is capable of supporting a weight of 450 kilos. This material, also present in the pilots’ visors, prevents elements such as stones or carbon fiber splinters from entering the cockpit and injuring the pilot.

None of these innovations have, no doubt, been endured like the halo, an unattractive device, to many, but since its debut in 2018 it has proven time and time again that its effectiveness is indisputable. Over the weekend, at Silverstone, he may have saved two lives.