The Halo: Formula One’s saving grace

It will be 12 years this year since Jules Bianchi’s fatal accident in Suzuka, which left him in a coma for nine months before dying at the age of 25.

Although it has been more than a decade since he passed away, his death continues to leave a mark on safety standards in Formula 1.

There have been 33 deaths in Formula One world championship racing since its beginning in 1950. Most drivers that compete in F1 know the risks they put themselves at each time they step into the car.

Safety standards have increasingly progressed since Bianchi’s accident, with the addition of Formula One’s most important safety feature today, the Halo, which was implemented after Bianchi’s crash.

The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GDPA) is the union for drivers to voice their concerns and take action against issues within the sport. In the past drivers have taken strike as well as had meetings with the FIA, F1’s governing body, to discuss safety issues.

In most cases where the GDPA and FIA have met, the drivers have come out satisfied with the outcome. However, in one of the most devastating incidents in modern day F1, the drivers had split feelings on the decision.

On October 5, 2014, the Japanese Grand Prix took place at the Suzuka circuit. The race was held in rainy conditions as Typhoon Phanfone was approaching Japan. On lap 42, Sauber’s Adrin Sutil spun off track into a run-off area. A pick-up truck came onto track to rescue Sutil’s vehicle. However, Bianchi did not slow for double-waved yellow flags and lost control.

Bianchi spun through the run-off area, and his car went headfirst under the recovery vehicle. His recorded speed at that moment was 123 km/h (76 mph), and the impact was 254 Gs. An average person can withstand 4-6 G force, so Bianchi’s accident was clearly catastrophic.

He was placed into a coma and remained in that state until his death nine months later on July 17, 2015. Following his accident, the FIA released an investigation into the event. One of the main suggestions was a change to the cockpit design.

In July 2015, Peter Wright, chairman of the FIA Safety Commission, said the suggested closed cockpit would not have averted Bianchi’s injuries. In 2016 the first prototype of the Halo would be introduced.

The halo is a curved metal bar connected to three points on the car above the driver's head. It is a crash protection system that the FIA has said from data, it increases drivers' survival rate by 17%.

When the halo was first introduced, many drivers opposed the introduction of the feature on the car. Drivers like Max Verstappen and Kevin Magnussen were quick to criticise the appearance of the new safety feature. Whereas drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz thought it was strange but understood the benefits of it.

Despite scepticism, no driver had anything bad to say about the safety aspect of the Halo. After trials, the Halo would be brought into Formula 1 for its first season in 2018.

Arguably, the halo would become the most important safety feature in modern day F1. The Halo has saved numerous drivers throughout different racing series in its 9 seasons. The first driver to be saved in a crash from potential injuries was Charles Leclerc at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2018.

The incredible thing about that is Charles Leclerc is Jules Bianchi’s godson, and the young driver has had nothing but praise for the new addition which saved his life.

It would be wrong to criticise such an important safety feature just because of its aesthetics. It was upsetting to see so many drivers oppose such a crucial safety feature in the beginning. 

Nine years on from its introduction and not one major problem has arisen from the Halo.  It has proven that aesthetics and F1 history is nowhere near as important as the safety of drivers .