Following his incident at the British Grand Prix, Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou stated that the Halo cockpit safety device in his car had saved his life.
The Halo became a requirement for Formula One cars in 2018 following years of FIA research on how to better protect a driver's head in open-cockpit racing.
Although its basic concept—a titanium hoop put above the driver's helmet—is relatively simple, it has proven to be incredibly effective and
has prevented serious harm and even death to drivers on numerous occasions since its development.
The FIA, the organisation in charge of regulating the sport, will continue to look for ways to improve safety despite Zhou's misfortune on the first lap of the Silverstone race.
The FIA will investigate the incident thoroughly to determine how to make future races safer, as it does with all major mishaps.
Even though the FIA has not officially stated what the inquiry will focus on or when it will be done, there are two very evident areas of concern following the crash on Sunday.
The first was the spot where Zhou's automobile was buried. After coming into touch with George Russell, the Alfa Romeo overturned,
skidded through the tarmac runoff area while upside down, sank into the surrounding gravel, and barrel-rolled over the tyre barrier.
During the final seconds of the incident, the automobile was thrown over the impact-absorbing barrier and into the catch-fencing beyond.
The catch-fencing did a commendably good job of preventing Zhou's car from flying into a location close to marshal posts, photographers, and a grandstand, but in doing so,
it also forced the vehicle to descend into a narrow space beyond the tyre barrier. Zhou was trapped between the catch fencing and the tyre barrier,
which made it more difficult for rescue workers to remove him from the rubble. If the Chinese driver had suffered serious wounds or if the car had caught fire.
Russell, who got out of his car in the run-off area and hurried over to check on Zhou.
Between the barricades and the metal fence, he was stranded there with no way out. Yes, that is a point to think about.
The other major cause for concern was the roll hoop being missing from the car after it had stopped. is necessary for the vehicle to pass the necessary crash tests.
Theoretically, the roll hoop is designed to absorb most impacts when the car is inverted while still allowing space for the driver's head to be protected.
it appears from Zhou's accident that the vehicle's roll hoop was torn off when he slid into the run-off area, leaving the Halo as the only thing left to protect Zhou's head.
The roll hoop will probably be the focus of the FIA's study if it can be improved to perform better in such a situation.
The fact that Zhou and Alex Albon avoided major injuries in their crashes is evidence of the FIA's process for evaluating and learning from each significant F1 occurrence.
Like it was with the events that prompted the creation of the Halo, it's possible that the lessons learned from Zhou's tragedy at Silverstone will one day save a life.