Halo saves driver for first time

The halo safety device possibly came into use for the first time on Sunday in an incident during the F2 race at the Spanish Grand Prix. Tadasuke Makino may have been spared serious injury in a crash with Nirei Fukuzumi at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The pair of Honda development drivers came into contact in Sunday's sprint race, with the Ardon of Fuzukumi mounting Makino's Russian Time as they spun into the gravel trap.

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The halo on Makino's car was clearly marked after the incident, but it held up under the pressure of another car and both drivers were able to walk away from the crash unscathed.

We have seen the halo come into use for the first time to protect a driver!

Tadasuke Makino may have been spared serious injury in a crash with Nirei Fukuzumi in the #F2 race in Barcelona.#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/YnF6Z3ppRk — GP Fans Global (@GPFansGlobal) May 13, 2018

Interviewed after the incident, Makino admitted he had not noticed his rival's car mounting his own as the incident happened too fast.

However, photographs of the scarred Russian Time shared by Charrel Jalving on Twitter suggest Makino was fortunate to go unharmed.

Nog een aantal foto’s van na het incident tussen Fukuzumi en Makino tijdens F2 race 2 . Ben benieuwd naar de replay, maar ik denk dat dit zonder Halo niet heel fijn was gelopen.#F2 #Halo #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/Q9vzIBxfb7 — Charrel Jalving (@Charreljalving) May 13, 2018

The halo device has been introduced across Formula 1, F2 and GP3 this year, while it will also feature on the next generation of Formula E cars.

Drivers, fans and pundits alike have criticised its ugly appearance, but many others have espoused the FIA's decision to improve cockpit safety, following the deaths of Henry Surtees and Justin Wilson, who both died after being struck during events in other series.

Fernando Alonso said in ore-season: "This is a safety device, it's head protection for the drivers, so there should not be any debate on that, as long as it's a safety device.

"Yeah, aesthetics aren't the best at the moment, and in the future I'm sure that the sport and the teams will find a way to make it a little bit nicer, for the fans, and for the cars to look a little bit better."