Formula 1: Recent crashes illustrate just how safe the sport has become

Recent crashes involving Alfa Romeo Sauber teammates Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson show just how safe Formula 1 has become.

Within the last week, two massive accidents involving Alfa Romeo Sauber teammates Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson have illustrated just how safe Formula 1 has become over the years.

At the start of last Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso was catapulted over the top of Leclerc’s car when he was run into by Renault Sport’s Nico Hulkenberg, who simply misjudged his breaking point heading into the first corner on the first lap of the 44-lap race around the 19-turn, 4.352-mile (7.004-kilometer) Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps road course in Stavelot, Belgian.

Alonso’s car bounced off of the top of the car and the halo device on the car of the 20-year-old Monegasque before landing on the track. All drivers who were involved in the accident walked away unharmed.

Here is a video of this massive crash.

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1033736082603425793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1033736082603425793&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeyondtheflag.com%2F2018%2F08%2F31%2Fformula-1-max-verstappen-doesnt-believe-halo-device-saved-charles-leclerc%2F

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In the second free practice session for this Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, Marcus Ericsson was making his way into turn one of the 11-turn, 3.600-mile (5.793-kilometer) Autodromo Nazionale Monza road course in Monza, Italy when his drag reduction system (DRS) was activated and then failed to close properly.

This caused Ericsson’s car to veer left on him, sending him into the grass and into the wall. Shortly after he hit the wall, the Ferrari-powered Sauber machine of the 27-year-old Swede careened into a nasty barrel roll.

Here are two videos of this massive accident.

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1035540094499737600

Just as Leclerc did on Sunday, Ericsson walked away from this accident unharmed.

We could argue day and night about the true effect that the halo had as far as protecting Leclerc in last week’s accident is concerned, and we could argue day and about about the effect that one safety improvement or another had as far as protecting Ericsson in yesterday’s accident is concerned.

But the bottom line is this. Both of these accidents were massive and likely would have resulted in major injuries if not death had they happened several years ago, so the fact that both Leclerc and Ericsson escaped unharmed illustrates just how safe Formula 1 has become over the years.

It’s a shame it takes such frightening accidents to demonstrate this, but the fact is, these are the accidents that best do so, and they have done exactly that over the course of the last seven days.

With Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson having walked away unharmed from the massive accidents that they experienced over the last week, how much safer do you believe Formula 1 car be? Where, if anywhere, do you believe there is still room for safety improvements in the sport at this point?