Is the halo a godsend?
How a century of safety developments in motorsport led to the halo
Death drives change. The halo is the result of the century-long evolution of safety in motorsport, as too many of the sport's tragedies have been necessary to force Formula 1 to evolve.
Most of the key safety developments in motorsport were born from tragedy. From the introduction of the Head and Neck Support device (HANS) to the halo, terrible accidents led to these developments. Whether it's that fatal weekend in Imola 30 years ago to the tragic day in Suzuka 10 years ago, why does death prompt change?
One of the sport’s biggest controversies was undoubtedly the halo. The big, imposing, bar ruined the traditional look of a Formula 1 car for many fans and drivers alike. Although most people have settled down and come to admire the halo, some still argue that these safety implementations are “ruining the integrity of the sport”. However, since its introduction, the halo has saved many lives. It may be a bit ugly, but it's a godsend.
"Everyone that's been involved in motorsport knows that every time a racing driver steps into a car, they're putting their lives on the line, and that's part of the thrill."
Safety in motorsport has been a century-long journey from the first rally races in the French countryside to the global phenomenon of the modern FIA Formula One World Championship. As technology developed and cars became more powerful, it was only natural that people wanted to race them.
Commonly known as the “pinnacle of motorsport”, Formula 1 has consistently been the breeding ground for change. As the sport began to grow in popularity, concerns rose as the cars became more powerful while everything else tailed behind. Classic circuits boasted dangerous corners too harsh on the high-speed Formula 1 cars, and barriers weren’t safe enough to withstand evergrowing g-forces.
The FIA stepped in quite early, introducing circuit inspections and mandating protective gear such as helmets and overalls in the 1960s. By the 1970s, after far too many accidents and tragedies, the FIA attempted to get a firm grip on the safety aspects of racing. Drivers were dying from race accidents, test session incidents, and even qualifying crashes. Fire-resistant clothing became compulsory, structural changes to the cars improved driver safety, and circuit improvements brought an extra degree of safety to drivers and spectators.
By the 1980s, however, Formula 1 cars were still too fast and dangerous. Medical centres became compulsory, tyre barrier requirements were enforced, and key structural changes to the cars protected the drivers more than ever. But it still wasn’t enough.
One of the most infamous fatalities in Formula 1 history occurred in 1994 - the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna on consecutive days in Imola. That fatal weekend saw the near-death of Rubens Barrichello, Ratzenberger’s fatal accident at the Villeneuve kink during qualifying and Senna’s deathly collision with the concrete wall during the race.
Death should not be the cause for change, but it always is in motorsport. The FIA stepped up the safety requirements in the late 1990s, reducing pitlane speeds, introducing wheel tethers, prohibiting four-wheel steering, and making several circuit improvements amongst many other things. In the following decade, the Head and Neck Support device (HANS) was introduced as technology began to improve at the pinnacle of motorsport.
All seemed well in motorsport. There was not a single death in Formula 1 after the tragedy in Imola, until the passing of Jules Bianchi in 2015. 20 years after the incidents in Imola, Bianchi’s Marussia collided with a recovery vehicle on the track at Suzuka in 2014. He sustained a diffuse axonal injury, fell into a coma, and passed a year after his initial crash. It was Bianchi’s passing that forced yet another key safety development in Formula 1 - the halo.
Graphics created by Shayni Solanki
Graphics created by Shayni Solanki
How does the halo work?
The halo is a Grade 5 titanium crash-protection device used on Formula 1 cars. It is a sleek and strong bar made up of two rear pillars, a centre pillar, and a half ring at the top which consists of two-quarters of a circle. Closing off a portion of the cockpit, the halo is placed directly in the middle of a driver’s eyeline to avoid disturbance while driving. The three-pronged structure weighs only 7kg and can withstand the weight of a double-decker bus.
For aerospace engineer and motorsport enthusiast Bryson Sullivan, the halo is a godsend. With decades of experience as an aerospace engineer designing aircraft engines and power units, Sullivan explained that the halo was inspired by technology regularly used in civil and military aviation.
He shared: “In F1, the halo is the primary structural component that absorbs the forces of massive objects like wheels, tyres and things like that, but the fact that it's so open seems to leave you exposed to smaller things like debris.
“What Formula 1 has done to combat that is upgrading and increasing the structural standards of the helmets themselves, you almost can call them super helmets as they can withstand more significant impact without breaking.”
The FIA initially sought a closed cockpit design, with a visor rather than a bar. Instead of the Indycar-style screen, the halo was adopted to reduce the risk of head injuries to drivers. The bar around the cockpit opening protects drivers from large chunks of debris striking drivers’ heads. Although the halo was not initially well-received, it’s definitely proved its worth.
Sullivan continued: “A perfect example is we typically think of a halo as something that protects the driver's head from tyres, barriers, tracks and things that would directly impact the head. But if you look back to 2022, we had an unusual crash at Silverstone (Zhou Guanyu), his car flipped upside down and the halo protected his head.
“So even though the halo wasn't designed to slide the car upside down with this roll-over structure, the fact that it was there probably saved his life, especially considering that he went over the barriers, between the tyre barriers and the catch fencing. That was one key thing that was unanticipated, but was a benefit.”
Moore has always credited the halo as the reason she is alive today. After the crash in Spa, it was clear that the halo was the key to protecting her head from Eaton's tyre.
“I know that if I were to jump in a car that doesn’t have a halo, I wouldn’t push myself that extra mile because I would always have that incident, holding me down, in the back of my mind.”
Since its introduction to the sport, the halo proved its worth. Racing drivers who were once sceptical of the halo have credited it for saving lives. One of these drivers is Sarah Moore. Moore is a professional British racing driver and coach who has competed in the W Series, Porsche Sprint Challenge GB, GT4 South European Series and more.
In August 2021, Moore was involved in a horrific crash during the W Series qualifying session at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps. Going around the infamous Eau Rouge corner during a wet qualifying session, Moore skid around the corner into the crash barriers. Fellow British driver Abbie Eaton followed, alongside Beitske Visser, Ayla Agren, Belen Garcia, and Fabienne Wohlwend in a multi-car crash.
As two cars collided after hitting the barriers, a third car flew into the rears of Moore and Eaton. At one point, a loose tyre bounced off Moore’s halo as she was knocked unconscious. Six drivers from the all-female series underwent medical checks, while two were hospitalised for further assessment. Luckily, there were no fatalities and most drivers left Spa unscathed.
Moore shared: “I've probably been quite open since my Spa crash in the fact that I'm still not, in terms of my own confidence, back to 100%. It's definitely had a huge effect on me mentally, and I guess it made me view life a bit differently.
“It’s just opened my eyes a bit more. If I’m in a sports car or GT car, I feel a lot more comfortable and safe. Not that I don’t find formula cars safe, because the Spa crash proves how safe they actually are - but I’ve just grown to want a bit of extra space in the car."
Graph by Shayni Solanki, using data from Motorsport Memorial
From rallying to endurance racing, there is not a single form of motorsport that can be considered “safe”. In the early days of racing on dirt roads in pure open cockpits, with no helmets and barely a seatbelt, incident numbers were bound to be high. However, the number of accidents slowly crept up as motorsport started growing in popularity across the globe.
Using the Motorsport Memorial database to compile the racing car and truck fatalities by year, it is clear that motorsport has and will never be a truly safe sport. During the 1930s, the total number of recorded fatalities in the racing of four-wheeled vehicles had peaked at 96.
At this time, there was little care for circuit inspections, speed restrictions or even compulsory helmets. Motorsport was growing in popularity as technology began to advance but also in its recklessness.
The number of recorded fatalities in race tracks across the world reached a peak in the 1950s, with the tragic 1955 Le Mans disaster that killed over 80 people and injured 170. An unexpected collision saw the Mercedes 300 SLR, driven by Pierre Levegh, launched over the protective barrier into the spectator area. The car instantly disintegrated with Levegh trapped inside, and thousands of flying debris struck hundreds of spectators. Constructors such as Mercedes Benz left the sport after the incident while several European countries banned motorsport for a decade. A tragedy of this scale has never been seen in the sport since. The disaster forced circuit organisers to make adjustments to the track and cancel the next two Championship rounds, as guilt led drivers to retire entirely from the sport.
It wasn’t just drivers at risk, spectators were losing their lives too. In 1967, a total of 76 spectators including journalists, photographers, and marshals lost their lives across several circuits. From the Douglas County Fair Speedway to the Nürburgring, recorded fatalities in motorsport were reaching a new peak as races began to pop up all over the globe. In many cases, handfuls of spectators would suffer painful deaths alongside drivers. For example, six spectators and one driver died at the Autódromo Ciudad de Rafaela in Argentina in 1967.
Discounting the drop in fatalities due to World War 2 and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that as accidents began to rise, the sport was forced to make necessary changes. Fatalities and accidents have steadily declined since the 1955 disaster forced stricter regulations and safety requirements in motorsport. As unfortunate as death can be, it drives change where necessary. In this case, all these big changes led to the introduction of the halo.
The halo saves lives, so who cares if it makes the cars a bit less traditional? When the halo was first introduced, many fans and drivers not only thought it was a little ugly, but they thought it ruined the performance of the car.
Venkata Teja Sai Perala, a Computational Fluid Dynamics student at Cranfield University, was one of the many who first felt that the halo hindered the integrity of Formula 1.
He said: “The halo increases the drag of the car and the drivers’ viewing experience. Initially, I thought the halo completely removed that traditional view of the car. Formula 1 cars should be open and I first thought it lost its ‘cool’.
“But after watching the halo save the drivers' lives, I realised it is one of the most revolutionary parts of a Formula 1 car. Lewis Hamilton wouldn’t have been here if it weren't for the halo.”
The halo has managed to save lives unexpectedly. From Lewis Hamilton's helmet meeting the front tyre of a Red Bull at Monza in 2021 to Zhou Guanyu's flip into the tyre barriers at Silverstone, the halo has been a blessing.
Big changes to a well-loved sport would upset any fan, but witnessing the effectiveness of the halo should be enough to stop any criticism. At the end of the day, it shouldn't be all about the look of a car at the pinnacle of motorsport, it should be about how the car operates at the highest level.
The idea that the halo hindered the car's performance was shut down fairly fast, as drivers assured spectators that they could barely notice the halo.
Moore explained: "When you're driving, you're usually concentrating on the next corner or checking your mirrors so you never usually notice the halo because it’s straight ahead of you.
“Although visually some people might not like it. I think it's better for the people who are taking the risk of sitting in the cars every race weekend. It's them, you've got to think about, not what the car looks like."
It may seem like motorsport is as safe as can be, but there is still a long way to go. In Formula 1 history, 52 drivers have died during an FIA World Championship event or driving vintage Formula 1 cars. The most recent fatality in Formula 1 was Jules Bianchi, who passed 10 years ago on that tragic day in Suzuka.
Bianchi's passing catalysed the development of the halo and as a result, has saved the lives of many drivers. However, the next threat to the safety of the sport can be considered endless development to the technology. Formula 1 cars can reach an average speed of 200 mph, and with the technological advancement leading into the hybrid era, Formula 1 teams are practically building rockets. Each year the cars become bigger and faster, while the tracks fall short of these powerful cars.
Moore shared: “At the moment the cars seem to be getting faster, whether it be through engine power or improved aerodynamics, but the circuits aren't quite developing as fast as the cars.
“Since my crash, I've thought about it a lot and in all fairness, I don't think that there's anything that they can do to make that specific corner (Eau Rouge) safer unless we just stop racing there.
"Everyone that's been involved in motorsport knows that every time a racing driver steps into a car, they're putting their lives on the line, and that's part of the thrill."
For many fans of the sport, it's not enough to sit around and wait for a tragedy to take the next step in the safety evolution. But how else do you know what to do?
“Any device or object constructed by human hands can be destroyed. If the forces are strong enough, whether it’s an object or an F1 car, it’s always possible for things to go wrong.”
As an engineer, Sullivan believes that the evolution of safety in motorsport was like putting pieces of a puzzle together.
He said: "It definitely was a congregation of many small changes and a couple of big ones, and sometimes these build on top of each other.
“Drivers are heroes, warriors and incredible people, but they are just people at the end of the day. We have to do everything we can to try and protect them and we must be honest with ourselves about the limitations of things we create. We can’t allow calls that things are being made “too safe” to be taken seriously.”
While the halo has worked in tandem with other life-saving features like HANS and wheel tethers, there is only so much the pinnacle of motorsport can do to predict the next necessity. Now, the sport can only wait.
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