The halo, from hindrance to lifeguard in Formula 1

Verstappen's car on top of Hamilton's Mercedes in the accident that occurred at the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit.MATTEO BAZZI / EFE

In the last seasons of Formula 1 there have been the most spectacular accidents, such as the one that George Russell and Valtteri Bottas starred in this same course in Imola.

However, few were as close to ending in tragedy as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at Monza this past Sunday.

After being catapulted by one of those

sausages

that reinforce the pianos, the Dutchman's Red Bull topped the British's Mercedes, who fell on the 752 kilos of weight of his main opponent's car in the fight for the title.

If it weren't for the halo, the device that protects the pilots' heads, the current world champion would surely have died with his neck broken.

The F-1 has made public this Tuesday the entire sequence of the incident captured through the different subjective cameras, and in 360º.

The video is creepy.

More information

• In the name of Papa Verstappen

• Hamilton and Verstappen, as Senna and Prost

As soon as he got out of the car, the Mercedes driver thanked the International Automobile Federation (FIA) for the crusade in favor of safety maintained since the death of Ayrton Senna, in an accident that occurred in May 1994 at the Imola circuit.

A dramatic new angle on the Hamilton / Verstappen collision # ItalianGP 🇮🇹 # F1 pic.twitter.com/PvN2KGUbbi

- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 14, 2021

“The tire fell on my head, and I think that will accompany my thoughts for the next few days.

The halo has saved me and my neck.

I feel absolutely blessed to be here, and I think someone helped me from above, ”agreed Hamilton.

What it had on top was that 7.5-kilo piece of carbon fiber, capable of supporting 12,000 kilos, the equivalent of a double-decker bus, which was introduced in 2018 as a mandatory element in every car. Since his incorporation, there are several pilots who have saved their skin thanks to him. Like Charles Leclerc, who Fernando Alonso landed on him with his McLaren in Spa (2018), or Romain Grosjean, who probably would have been beheaded last year, in Bahrain, when his Haas crossed the guardrails of the track in that horrifying accident in which the Frenchman came out of hell alive.

The last one to give thanks is Hamilton, quite a paradox considering the virulence of his criticism at the time his approval was being discussed.

In addition to the questions that pointed to the aesthetic, some considered that the halo reduced the field of vision of the pilots too much.

During testing of the device, Verstappen was one of those who most questioned its introduction.

"If there are parts of the cars flying, it will not serve to protect the driver, I do not understand why we need it," the Dutch racer complained.

"It is the worst element that has ever been added to an F1 car," said Hamilton in March 2016, after seeing photos of the first version.

Rectifying is wise and the British have done it.

He is alive thanks to the halo.

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