On the evening of the 12th Beijing time, the F1 Italian Grand Prix staged a thrilling scene. Red Bull driver Verstappen's car hit the shoulder of the road while trying to overtake, and then collided with Mercedes driver Hamilton's car, taking off out of control and the car pressing over Hamilton's head. Looking back at the video, it can be seen that without the protection of the Halo system, the accident could have seriously injured Hamilton.
After the game, Hamilton had a pain in his neck, "To be honest, I feel very lucky, thanks to Halo, it saved me, I think the impact was very intense at the time, but all I could do was recover as soon as possible. To Hamilton's surprise, Verstappen stepped out of the car and left, not caring if the opponent was okay, "The good thing is that I can still come out, it's a long road, but I survived and waited for the next battle." ”
Verstappen's car crashed into Hamilton's car
Verstappen was somewhat radical
Verstappen and Hamilton currently occupy the top two spots in the drivers' standings, with the former gaining momentum for power. The F1 championship has been dominated by Hamilton for too long and it's gratifying to have new people popping up, but Verstappen's aggressive driving style often gets him into trouble.
After the race, the race officer listened to verstappen, Hamilton and the representatives of their respective teams and looked back at the video of the accident and decided that Verstappen was primarily responsible for the accident. For this, Verstappen was sent to retire 3 places in the next Russian Grand Prix, and the super driver's license will be deducted 2 points.
Verstappen looked forward to the new king's ascension to the throne
Afterwards on social media, Verstappen still had a lot of words: "Unfortunately, if I had enough space in the corner, I could have avoided this accident, but it would have taken two people to complete it, and I was obviously squeezed out of the track. Unfortunately, this happens when we are fighting each other. ”
The Dutchman Verstappen was labeled a radical driver for a long time after entering F1. And he himself doesn't think there's anything wrong with that, "I feel like I'm just trying to play, I don't think my game is aggressive. "Once on the track, he doesn't want to be overtaken," I think in terms of racing, it's really a real strength for me and I know exactly how to get out of trouble. But if someone else comes to you with a car, sometimes you don't have the right to decide something. ”
In Verstappen's view, collisions on the track are inevitable, but this scene in Italy is really frightening. Mercedes TEAM CEO Toto Wolff admits that without Halo, the consequences of the accident would be unimaginable. "We are fortunate that it was Halo who saved Hamilton's life," Wolff attributed Verstappen's actions to "technical errors," but he hopes that the penalties imposed by the tournament officers will prevent the so-called technical mistakes from happening again in the future. "The competition between the two of them is intense and fierce", but he hopes that in the future the two drivers will find a more "clean" way to play.
The competitive Hamilton will not give way easily
Driver safety comes first
The Halo system, which saved the driver from danger again and again, has made another contribution.
The so-called Halo system is simply a titanium alloy protective ring installed above the cockpit. Its shape is like a slipper standing above the cockpit, which is also jokingly called "flip-flops" by netizens. The Halo system effectively avoids heavy impacts on the rider's head in the event of an impact, while retaining the design of the F1 open cockpit, providing space for the rider to escape. According to FIA regulations, the Halo system must be able to withstand more than 15 times the load of the F1 car itself, that is, about 12 tons of weight, equivalent to the weight of a double-decker bus.
Although the Halo system can protect the riders very well, it was not optimistic at the beginning of its birth, and the biggest reason is that its addition directly obscures the driver's line of sight, especially the intersection of the three titanium alloy frames. At the same time, it also increased the weight of the car by nearly 7 kilograms, and the cockpit of the car had to redesign the fulcrum for the system. At one point, 90 percent of the team opposed the addition of the Halo system, and Toto Wolfe once declared, "If I had a saw, I would be the first to saw the Halo system." ”
From the death of senna at the Imola circuit in 1994 to the unexpected death of Bianchi at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan in 2014, the FIA decided to install the Halo system above the cockpit of the car in 2018.
The Halo system greatly guarantees the safety of the riders
In the first year of the official use of the Halo system in F1 racing, it made its mark. At the Spärstenda in Belgium in September, due to a collision in the initial stages, Alonso's McLaren car flew directly over the head of leclerc's Sauber car. The first to bear the brunt of this accident is the Halo system, and if there is no protection from the Halo system, I am afraid that the driver's head will suffer.
In the 2020 Bahrain circuit impact accident, Haas Motorsport's Halo system split the guardrail next to the track at a speed of nearly 211 kilometers per hour, allowing the entire car shell to be embedded in the guardrail. It is precisely because of the protection of the Halo system that the driver Grossjean can escape the car surrounded by fire in the first place.
Today, no one will ever question the Halo system again. In addition to the protection of the Halo system, the carbon fiber monocoque, the Hans system and the fireproof racing suit comparable to the firefighter level all guarantee the safety of the riders.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Chen Hua Text Editor: Qin Dongying Caption Source: Xinhua News Agency
Source: Author: Qin Dongying