Ross Brawn hails the once-criticised halo that has now "saved Romain" Grosjean

Formula 1

Brawn hails the once-criticised halo that has now "saved Romain"

Halo was subject to derision when it was introduced

Ian Parkes

Sunday 29 November 2020 19:18

Ross Brawn has hailed the halo as critical in saving the life of Romain Grosjean in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Grosjean miraculously survived after his Haas split in two and immediately erupted on fire, with the Frenchman airlifted to hospital suffering from minor burns to his hands and ankles, and suspected broken ribs.

Formula 1's managing director motorsports Brawn has naturally declared there will now be "a deep analysis" of the horrific accident.

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Brawn, however, has made clear that without the halo then it is almost certain Grosjean would have been killed.

"Barriers splitting was a classic problem many years ago, and normally it resulted in a fatality," Brawn told Sky Sports F1.

"There's absolutely no doubt that [the halo] was the factor that saved the day, saved Romain.

"All the teams behind it must take credit for forcing it through because if you recall there was quite a lot of controversy about us introducing it, and I don't think anyone now, especially after today, can doubt the validity of that, and the value of it.

"Hats off to everyone involved because it was a lifesaver."

Assessing the protocols of what will now unfold, particularly with a second race around the venue's outer circuit next week, Brawn added: "Undoubtedly we have to do a deep analysis of all the events that occurred.

"There were a number of things that shouldn't have occurred - the fire was worrying, the split of the barrier was worrying.

"It's a barrier that would be very unusual to hit in a way that Romain hit that barrier, and for sure there will be some very careful scrutiny between now and the next race.

"Any information we can gather between now and the next race we will do so, and I'm sure any action will be taken that needs to be done.

"It's something we haven't seen for a very long time, and I think the safety standards at the circuits are exceptional, but today we saw something we didn't predict.

"The positives are the safety of the car, and that's what got us through today."