F1 halo: Hated but literally saved lives

If you follow F1, you must have heard about Yuki Tsunoda’s crash at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. Not only did he crashed into the barriers, but the car flipped and was utterly destroyed. The amazing part? He walked out of the crash completely unscathed.

Miracle? Maybe. But more likely, the halo saved him.

What is the halo?

The halo is a safety device that is mandatory on all F1 cars. It is made from titanium and sits at the top of the car to protect drivers. It was introduced in 2018 after the death of Jules Bianchi at the Suzuka Grand Prix in 2014.

Since the halo has been introduced, there is been no Formula 1 fatality.

The Halo was widely hated

You’d think something that could save lives would be widely welcomed. But no, it wasn’t.

Lewis Hamilton famously criticised the halo’s aesthetics, and said he would remove it from his car if he could. He even gone as far as to say that the safety in Formula 1 is “perfectly fine” as is. This was in 2016.

“The rear wheel landed on the halo and I think the inside of the most cambered part of the tyre landed on my head. I think I will be travelling these next days, but I will probably need to see a specialist to make sure I’m good for the next race because it is getting tighter and tighter. But I’ll live.”

Yet in 2021, a crash with Max Verstappen left Hamilton’s Mercedes quite literally under Verstappen’s Redbull. Without the halo, he would likely have been severely injured.

In the interview after the incident Hamilton thanked God for the halo, and acknowledged that it saved him and his neck.

Max Verstappen also condemned the halo

In 2017, Verstappen also echoed Hamilton’s sentiment that the safety standards at Formula One was sufficient, and that the halo wasn’t necessary.

I supposed it’s hard to imagine why the halo was necessary. Psychology would refer to this as optimism bias. In other words, not me, not now.

Yet without the halo, his teammate Yuki Tsunoda would unlikely have walked away unscathed.

Safety is always the most important

We all know that it’s better to be safe than be sorry. But yet at the same time, it’s very hard to walk the talk. The halo is a good example of how something that is inherently good, and built with good intentions, was rejected by the people who were supposed to benefit most from it.

Hopefully this can be a reminder for all of us.

It could really be something small such as using the safety arms or bars when squatting. In 2023, a 33-year old personal trainer, Justyn Vicky, died after a barbell broke his neck. He did have a spotter but the incident happened in a split second. Sometimes all we need is just to setup the safety bars or just squat inside a rack.

Earlier this year, a 17 year old powerlifter died after a barbell crushed her neck. She too had a spotter. Yet we cannot never be too safe. This incident could have also been prevented.

Don’t forget exertional rhabdomyolysis

One of my clients was just hospitalised recently after a rhabdomyolysis scare after a spin class. I don’t think spin as a workout is inherently harmful but we all need to know our physical limits. And, workouts aren’t always about pushing to our limits or pushing as hard as we can.

Rhabdomyolysis after spin classes is not exactly news in Singapore. A study conducted by Singapore General Hospital reported 93 rhabdomyolysis patients in one year. This is just one hospital! It is very possible that we get a case of rhabdomyolysis every day in Singapore.

While the study did report that risk of complications is low among spin-induced exertional rhabdomyolysis patients, it is in my opinion still unnecessary risk.

Do not confuse foolishness with tenacity

I was appalled when I saw the Olympics official social media accounts used a clip of Zhang Dan’s traumatic fall at Turin 2006 as something to celebrate?

The short clip was about how Zhang Dan fell with her legs splaying then skidded across the ice to hit the sideboards, and could not stand upright. Four minutes later, she went back on ice to skate with her partner Zhang Hao as the judges allowed them to restart their programme from where they stopped.

They ended up winning the silver medal.

I am sorry but why was there no talk of safety? Are we encourage athletes to push through despite being injured?

As a chiropractor, I think we need to be more sensitive about how we portray sports and sportsmanship. And it’s high time we emphasise on athlete’s well-being first. Tenacity to push through pain to win a silver medal may be a titillating story but encourages all the wrong behaviours.

Either way, Zhang Dan did continue to win medals following the injury but came in fifth at the next Olympics. Word was that she only mildly injured the ligaments in her knee, and that the injury was still not severe.

What is the halo in your life?

I know we are all not Formula One drivers but it’s always good to take a pause to check in on ourselves. What are we doing in our lives that is taking on unnecessary risk?

What prompting do we have inside us or at the back of our heads that is telling us to do something different?

Hindset is always 20/2o but we cannot change the past. What we can work on today is right in front of us. While not always pleasant and may greatly challenge our bias, it can come back to save our lives one day.