Formula 1: FIA confirm that the halo saved Charles Leclerc in Belgium

The FIA’s investigation into whether or not the new Formula 1 halo device saved Charles Leclerc from a potential serious injury in the Belgian Grand Prix concluded with evidence that it did.

Heading into the first turn of the opening lap of the 13th race of the 21-race 2018 Formula 1 season, the Belgian Grand Prix, Renault Sport’s Nico Hulkenberg missed his breaking point and ran into the back of McLaren’s Fernando Alonso.

The contact between the cars of Hulkenberg and Alonso sent Alonso’s car sideways before it hit the back of the car driven by Alfa Romeo Sauber rookie Charles Leclerc.

The contact between the cars of Alonso and Leclerc sent Alonso’s car up over the top of Leclerc’s car, at which point it came in contact with the halo device protecting Leclerc’s head inside the cockpit of his car as opposed to Leclerc’s helmet itself. None of the drivers were injured as a result of this crash.

Here is a video of several different angles of this incident.

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Since this incident took place, there has been an intense debate surrounding whether or not the halo, which was implemented as a required device in Formula 1 beginning this past season, actually saved Leclerc from potentially being seriously injured as a result of this wreck.

The FIA investigated the matter, and after several weeks of analysis of video footage and data, they have concluded that the halo did, in fact, prevent Leclerc’s helmet from being struck by Alonso’s car during this accident, which could have resulted in serious injury or even death.

The halo reportedly remained “structurally intact and in a usable condition” after the right front wheel of Alonso’s car made contact with it. In addition, Sauber were able to remove the device, which also helped deflect Alonso’s car away, after the incident, and they did not have any issues in doing so.

This investigation concluded that without the halo, the front right wheel of Alonso’s car likely would not have hit Leclerc’s helmet, but the endplate on his car’s front wing likely would have. Here is what FIA safety director Adam Baker had to say about the matter, according to Autosport.com.

"“From the available data and video footage, we are confident that the wheel would not have hit Leclerc’s helmet. But, as Alonso’s car continued to yaw relative to Leclerc’s, we believe that Alonso’s front wing endplate would have just contacted Leclerc’s visor. It is difficult to predict the severity of the contact with any precision, though.”"

Among the key findings in the report by the FIA Global Institute was the fact that the peak force imparted on the halo was 58 kilonewtons, whereas the FIA prescribed load requirement for the device and its chassis attachment points is 125 kilonewtons. Had the wheel hit Leclerc’s helmet at a force of 58 kilonewtons, he could have suffered a severe head or neck injury.

In addition, 30 kilojoules, which would also result in serious head or neck injuries or even death if loaded directly to the driver, is what the impact energy would have been had the full mass of Alonso’s car impacted the halo loading through the primary structure at a speed of 19 miles per hour (30 kilometers per hour), which is what the relative velocity between the two cars was at the time of the crash, based on a weight of 840 kilograms.

Sauber confirmed through their own investigation that none of the halo’s structure or attachments were deformed as a result of this accident, nor was the chassis of Leclerc’s car.

If you were originally not a fan of the new halo device being implemented into Formula 1 beginning this past season, has this incident and the fact that the halo protected Charles Leclerc during it changed your opinion of the device?