An F1 driver escaped serious injury and perhaps even death thanks to a new device added to cars this season, an official investigation found.
Charles LeClerc was miraculously uninjured when Fernando Alonso’s car went flying straight at his head at the Belgian Grand Prix in August. The protective cockpit halo, a new addition for the 2018 season, bore the brunt of the impact and was all chewed up in the aftermath.
F1 then commissioned an official investigation to determine just how big a role the halo played in sparing LeClerc. The investigation was conducted by the FIA Global Institute, which is run by F1’s governing body.