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🇬🇧 F1'22 R10: Don't fear the worst

The evolution of Formula 1 cars was in full effect at Silverstone. Not just in terms of speed, but safety Perhaps fitting given that the first F1 race was held at the historic airfield with straw bales and dozens of people sitting in the infield. 


The latest race saw a fascinating battle between Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, and towards the end, Alpine and McLaren also joined in for second, with a five-way tussle among the top six after a late safety car restart. But it was Carlos Sainz who emerged upfront, taking his first win after 150 attempts, He becomes the first new winner of the new era. A massive win for his self-confidence in a race where seven drivers failed to finish, two of them taken to hospital, and one of them sliding through the gravel and flipping into the fence.
We got a short preview of how safety is at the forefront of the sport and how crucial the halo is in the Formula 2 race between Denis Hauger and Roy Nissany, with the latter’s structure taking the full hit of his rival’s car that had been propelled into the air by a dangerous kerb and into the path of his opponent. Both drivers, thankfully, walked away from the incident, although questions need to be asked of Nissany’s role and his continued danger to the rest of the junior grid.
During the main event, the incident happened immediately. A perfect storm of different reaction times, cars that normally wouldn’t be this far up the grid coming close together and tyre choices meaning that Pierre Gasly hit George Russell, and the Brit clips and flips Guanyu Zhou who rolled over the tyre barrier and smashed into the fence.
The debates around the halo have quietened down in recent years, and this weekend highlighted just how essential it is. In hindsight, it’s somewhat weird that we raced without it for so long.

  
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Charles Leclerc got tagged in Belgium while he was at Alfa Romeo in 2018, Roman Grosjean in 2020 went through the Bahrain barrier surrounded by flames, and the Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen collision in Monza all examples off the top of my head that shows that the titanium structure that surrounds the drivers is as important as any other part of the car.

It’s a bit of a no-brainer, not just for the safety element. It’s extra real estate for teams to sell, it provides a striking focal point for the cars and other series light them up to show different status. 

And there’s another incident that’s worth a second look. Mick Schumacher in Jeddah qualifying had a crash that spewed debris across the track. Here’s a reconstruction of it, complete with some dramatic music.

The car is designed to break everything except the survival cell, so this design, combined with the safety elements, means that even in a crash looks spectacular, leaving a car with dozens of parts waiting to be swept across the track and the driver climbing out of the car and free to race another day.

Ayrton Senna, Roland Ratzenberger, Jules Bianchi, Anthoine Hubert and so many others caused the sport to look inwards and make changes to secure the sport’s future. Formula 1 will never be 100% safe - it simply can’t be, but all those who argued against the halo (and continue to argue against safety improvements like IndyCar’s aeroscreen) will find themselves on the wrong side of history.

Thank God we don't listen to motorsport journalists.

The next F1 race comes to Austria, and arguably (with Monza) the closest thing that F1 has to a roval. The Red Bull Ring is a fast track - one of the fastest on the calendar - but despite the fear factor, the drivers can have full confidence in the safety of their vehicles. Austria will be another fascinating race in a season that’s becoming another classic, but for different reasons to 2021. 

Nothing says "I'm good" like a selfie after a devastating crash.

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