Brawn: ‘no doubt’ halo saved Grosjean’s life
Formula 1 boss Ross Brawn says there is “no doubt” the halo played a pivotal role in saving Romain Grosjean’s life after his opening-lap accident in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Grosjean’s Haas went straight into the outside barrier on the exit of Turn 3 when he made contract with AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat, with the impact splitting his car in half.
Despite the car being engulfed in flames, Grosjean extracted himself out of the cockpit just seconds after the accident, before being helped to safety by FIA medical delegate Ian Roberts – one of the first on the scene.
The Frenchman was taken to hospital, where he will remain overnight, with suspected broken ribs and sustained minor burns in the crash.
Replays showed Grosjean veered right as cars concertinaed ahead of him, unaware Kvyat was to his right-hand side when the pair collided.
Asked if he believed the halo cockpit protection device prevented a potential fatal accident, Brawn told Sky F1: “Yeah, there’s no doubt.
“Barriers splitting was a classic problem many years ago and normally it resulted in a fatality. There’s absolutely no doubt the halo was the factor that saved the day and saved Romain.
“All the team behind it just need crediting for forcing it through.
“If you recall, there was quite a lot of controversy at the time about introducing it and I don’t think anyone now, especially after today, can doubt the validity of that and the value of it.
“So, hats off to everyone involved because it was a life-saver today.”
The halo was introduced back in 2018 in a bid to increase driver safety, but was met with a mixed reaction with some feeling it destroyed the DNA of F1 which had always been an open-cockpit sport.
Brawn said it was inconceivable to think of the outcome had the halo not been in operation, adding it will conduct a “deep investigation” into the incident.
“It’s shocking for everyone in F1 to see an accident of that severity,” Brawn said. “We’re not used to that, fire being involved as well.
“But I think it’s a tribute to the work that the FIA and the teams have done over the years. I think we remember the controversy of the halo when it was introduced. And I have to give credit to Jean Todt, because he insisted that it should come through.
“And I think today, we might be looking at a different situation that we didn’t have the halo. And for me, that’s what prised, and managed to keep the barrier apart, when the car went through it.
“But I’m sure we’ll have a deep investigation to understand what we can learn from it. Because seeing a barrier split like that is clearly not what we want to see.”