Halo did most likely prevent Charles Leclerc being hit by Fernando Alonso’s McLaren during the first corner crash at the Belgian Grand Prix, the FIA has found.
The Spaniard flew over the top of the Monegasque’s Sauber at the start of the race at Spa after being hit from behind by Nico Hulkenberg on the approach to La Source.
In various camera angles the front-right wheel was seen bouncing off the Halo, which was controversially introduced in 2018, but there was uncertainty as to whether it prevented a strike on Leclerc’s helmet.
Now an investigation by the governing body has given us the best indication on what would have happened if the cockpit device hadn’t been present.
“From the available data and video footage, we are confident that the wheel would not have hit Leclerc’s helmet,” FIA safety director Adam Baker told Autosport.
“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.”
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The report has also indicated that the impact on the Halo was around half the force that it is designed to withstand.
So while there remains still some uncertainty on exactly if Leclerc would have been injured in the crash, let’s just be thankful it’s all hypothetical because of that ugly flip-flop that no-one liked.