F1 | FIA: “The halo saved Leclerc's life”

The investigation conducted by FIA on the accident at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, when there was fear for the safety of Charles Leclerc, struck by McLaren di Fernando Alonso, led to an obvious conclusion: the French driver was lucky thanks to the halo.

The government agency's forensic analysis of the accident that occurred at the hairpin bend "The Source” when Fernando Alonso's McLaren hit by Nico Hulkenberg and then flew over the Alfa Romeo Sauber by Leclerc, was supported by video footage and data from the cars, and the conclusions are chilling.

Motorsport.com revealed that the results of the FIA Global Institute underline the protective role played by the safety device.

“From the available data and video footage, we are sure that the wheel would not have hit Leclerc's helmet”, said the FIA ​​safety director Adam baker, commenting however that without the device, the damage to the pilot could have been very serious:

“We believe that Alonso's front wing would have just hit Leclerc's visor, but it is difficult to predict the severity of the contact with any accuracy. The estimated impact force on the Halo impact is 58kN or 46% of the FIA ​​prescribed load requirement of 125kN for halo and chassis attachment points. The location of the contact during the accident was close to the point of application of the load for the approval tests. Sand the wheel had hit Leclerc's helmet with similar force, there would have been a potentially very serious head or neck injury.".