User:Dsimon98/Halo (safety device)

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At the Japanese Grand Prix in 2014, Jules Bianchi unfortunately crashed into a recovery vehicle which made him suffer for nine months from a severe head injury. At the young age of 25, he passed away. Before this crash there were two other fatalities in Formula 2 in 2009 and in an IndyCar event. The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix is the last crash that inspired engineers to fix the big problem: the fatality rate.

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The Formula One halo was initially Mercedes’ Formula One team’s idea. While it does not specify a specific origin of the halo, it should have been created in their headquarters. “There was a huge amount of work not just for Mercedes”, stated Technical Director, James Allison. Although the idea was Mercedes’ Formula One team, the other team, Red Bull, attempted to help in the development of the halo, but they failed. Back in 2016, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) showed a 17% theoretical increase in survival chance for a driver with the halo. In 2018, they officially claimed that the halo was a mandatory safety feature in all cars in FIA-sanctioned series. This included Formula 1, Formula 2, and Formula E. That is how and where the halo originated: first the FIA had speculations on if the halo was a good idea (which it was because as stated before, it showed a theoretical increase of 17%) and then the Mercedes Formula One team created it for the rest of the other teams which eventually changed the history of racing.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the halo did historically alter the safety precautions of the motorsport industry. The Formula One halo proved it’s worth and the concept of it was introduced to not only FIA sports (F1, F2, F3, Formula Regional, and Formula E), but it was introduced to other open-wheel racing series like IndyCar Series and Indy Lights. Later on, it was mandatory to include the halo in these sports. Shortly after the introduction in Formula 2, one driver landed onto another car and the driver was saved from fatal damage. While many people were opposed to the idea of the halo because it “did not make the car look aesthetically pleasing”, the drivers who were affected were thankful for it.