F1 title rivals Hamilton and Verstappen clashed for position at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, which resulted in Verstappen’s Red Bull car flying over the top of Hamilton’s Mercedes.
One of Verstappen’s wheels made slight contact with Hamilton’s helmet, but most of the impact was absorbed by the Halo cockpit protection device.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff believed the halo “definitely” saved Hamilton’s life, while Hamilton himself said he felt “incredibly blessed to have someone watching over me today”.
The Halo underwent extensive testing and research at Cranfield University prior to its introduction to Formula 1 in 2018 and its subsequent expansion to all FIA single-seater championships.
Following Hamilton’s accident, Clive Temple, the Motorsport MSc program director at Cranfield University, said it was science, not luck, that saved the seven-time F1 world champion.
“Hamilton was out of luck,” said Temple. “The fact is that all of this work to keep drivers safe is based on technology and science. Safety comes first in motorsport.
“The Halo was introduced in 2018 and has proven itself this season when Charles Leclerc, who drove for Alfa Romeo at the time, was protected from protection [Fernando] Alonso’s flying McLaren.
“We had that too [Romain] Grosjean fireball incident in November 2020 and again there the halo came to the fore along with other safety measures such as the deformable nose cone guard, the safety system in the helmet and the barrier itself.
“It has been shown that the halo is one of the most important safety devices today, serving all drivers who drive single-seaters from Formula 1 to Formula 4.”
Temple added, “As this crash demonstrated, the halo is exceptionally strong and an integral part of other safety-critical elements in the car.
“Hamilton seeing Verstappen’s car come up is probably a bit like a London double-decker bus landing on top of the car.”
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In his regular debriefing video after the Mercedes race, the team’s motorsport strategy director James Vowles highlighted the importance of the safety advances that F1 had made.
“This is really a testament to all of the safety that has been introduced in Formula 1 in recent years,” said Vowles.
“In this case, the halo really saved his life, the helmet absorbed the impact well without damaging it, and again the HANS device behaved as it should.
“These three devices all work together to make sure Lewis is a little hurt and hurt, but okay.”
F1 released a 360-degree video of the accident from the on-board camera of Hamilton’s car in the days following the incident, showing the nature of the impact up close.
In the end, Verstappen was judged largely at fault for the collision, which led to a three-place penalty for the Russian Grand Prix next weekend.
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