Fernando Alonso has credited F1's halo head protection device with potentially saving Charles Leclerc's life after a dramatic crash at the Belgian Grand Prix. Alonso's McLaren landed on top of Leclerc's Sauber following a collision triggered by Nico Hulkenberg's Renault, which missed its braking point at the first corner at Spa.
Television replays showed Alonso's car being deflected by the halo, which bore impact marks afterwards. 'I saw the replay and how good was the proof for the halo,' Alonso said. 'The positive side is we are all three OK, especially Charles. I flew over his car and the halo was a good thing to have today.'
The halo, introduced controversially this season, faced opposition from some drivers and fans who felt it was unnecessary and compromised F1's open-cockpit ethos. However, Leclerc, who had previously been sceptical, admitted: 'Never been a fan of the halo but I have to say that I was very happy to have it over my head today.'
Hulkenberg received a 10-place grid penalty for the next race in Italy and three penalty points on his licence. He expressed disappointment, saying: 'I just misjudged my braking point a little bit and there was no real time to recover it.' Alonso compared the incident to a similar crash at the same circuit in 2012 involving Romain Grosjean, who received a race ban.
FIA race director Charlie Whiting noted the halo's apparent effectiveness: 'It doesn't take much imagination to think that the tyre marks could have actually been on Charles' head. Looks like it's had a fairly hefty whack though.'
