Formula 1 hero halo: saved Hamilton's head from being crushed by Verstappen's car

09/12/2021 3:35 PM

• Clarín.com

• sports

Updated 09/12/2021 3:35 PM

It is unaesthetic, probably.

But

its security is incontestable.

And this Sunday, in a bumpy and controversial Italian Grand Prix, at the mythical Monza circuit, it

once again gave proof of its usefulness

.

The halo

, the great figure of the fourteenth round of Formula 1. The hero who saved Lewis Hamilton's life

by preventing his head from being crushed

by Max Verstappen's car.

As soon as he entered from his first pit stop, Hamilton (Mercedes) dived to the left, the outer part of the track in that final sector of the main straight.

Surely he saw Verstappen (Red Bull) in the mirror and

wanted to win the position

to avoid being overtaken by the Dutchman.

And like someone who accelerates when he sees the yellow light of the traffic light, Max did not want to lose the chance to overcome it and

went hard

.

Thus, Verstappen stepped on the pianitos and went against the Mercedes, touching it on its side.

When the right rear wheel of his car touched the left rear of his rival's car,

his Red Bull lifted and passed over Hamilton

, fortunately protected by the unappealing but effective halo.

The beginning

The halo of Hamilton's Mercedes in 2019. Photo ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP

For a long time the International Automobile Federation had clear that something was going to be implemented to reinforce the safety of the drivers.

But until well into

the final months of 2017

, the decision had not been made.

The halo was the favored one in the election.

Without success, they also tried with

a transparent screen

- roughly, a kind of "windshield" - in front of the pilot, called Aeroscreen, and then with the "shield", a similar element.

However, due to the

lack of time to study it

on the tracks and the

negative opinions

that the shield had aroused in its few tests (Sebastian Vettel claimed to get down dizzy from seeing through the glass), he returned to the original idea of ​​the halo, tested by most teams for much of 2016.

The halo

starts from the sides of the cockpit and closes in front of the pilot above his eyes

, with a thin support that is right in the middle of the driver's field of vision.

Former Mercedes CTO James Allison had put the element's protective power into context: "Because of how the chassis has been reinforced, it

could withstand the weight of a double-decker bus

."

Verstappen's Red Bull halo.

AP Photo / Luca Bruno

Those who continued to oppose, beyond the fans who found the worst of the halo in its "ugliness", were the runners themselves.

When Verstappen had questioned its usefulness, he assured: "If there are parts of the cars flying,

it will not serve

to protect the pilot."

At the time, Haas man Kevin Magnussen didn't seem so interested in adding another security component.

"

Certain risk is part

of the image of Formula 1," he declared in early 2018.

Even the mythical Niki Lauda had been categorical when expressing himself about the halo: "The cars are now so safe and the risk that remains is so small that this decision

is not good

for Formula 1. It is an exaggerated reaction regarding safety."

However, not all voices were against it.

Vettel, in fact, also with this protector his eyes felt strange - "it was like driving cross-eyed", he explained - but he got on the sidewalk in front of the rest: "It would be foolish and ignorant not to use something like that."

It was proved.

Look also

Formula 1: the FIA ​​blamed and sanctioned Verstappen for the crash with Hamilton at the Italian GP

Italian GP: after the crash and scandal between Verstappen and Hamilton, Ricciardo won and McLaren completed a historic 1-2