Formula 2: Halo saves Roy Nissany’s life as nasty crash sees car land on another
Halo #Halo
The Halo device has once again proven its invaluable worth, this time in Formula 2, after protecting Roy Nissany’s head in a horrible-looking crash at Silverstone.
The device has been incorporated into the top FIA levels of open cockpit racing since 2018, and though some at the time voiced criticism over the aesthetics, such comments have proven trivial time and again in the years since with serious injuries being prevented on a number of occasions.
Indeed, last year we saw another prime example of that when Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were duelling it out for the lead at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, with the Dutchman’s Red Bull climbing up the side of the Mercedes and clouting Hamilton on the crash helmet with its rear tyre, though the Halo stopped it from being even worse as it cushioned much of the blow.
And now, in F2, we’ve seen another case of how the Halo can genuinely save a racing driver’s life, with this incident happening in the early stages of the Formula 2 race at Silverstone on Sunday, involving drivers Dennis Haugher and Roy Nissany – pictures from Sky Sports F1:
A horrible incident that drew audible gasps from the watching fans at Silverstone, and understandably so.
There was a horrible inevitability about the crash from an early stage, too, with Hauger’s car clearly out of control and spearing back towards the field, with him unable to slow it down in time.
Nissany was completely in the wrong place at the wrong time, but thankfully the Halo was there to take the force of an F2 car landing on it, and a sigh of relief for all connected could be let out as both drivers managed to remove themselves from their respective cars:
It’s the sort of incident that you never want to see at a race track but, though rare, it can and does happen.
Thankfully, the Halo has been brought in for such incidents and it again proves to be a phenomenal introduction in terms of motorsport safety.