Carlos Sainz won the British Grand Prix, in which he had to compete not only with Max Verstappen, but also Charles Leclerc, his Ferrari teammate. Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen reacted to the eventful weekend at Silverstone and drew parallels with his own career.
But he started with the accident of the Chinese racer Guanyu Zhou, which happened in the first seconds after the start – this incident will be talked and written about for a long time.
The FIA and championship teams are ready for such accidents. All safety systems worked, and although Zhou’s car flipped upside down and landed between the barriers and a net protecting the spectators in the stands from debris, the driver was not injured.
The accident was quite spectacular, the kind that happens when several cars collide on the track. Of course, it must be admitted that the Halo system saved the life of the Alfa Romeo racer, or at least saved him from serious injury.
Since the system was implemented by the FIA in 2018, we’ve already seen Halo protect drivers effectively – for example last year in Monza, when Max Verstappen’s car landed on the cockpit of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
But what happened last Sunday deserves special attention. After reviewing the video footage of the incident and photos of the damaged car, I noticed that the top safety bar, which was supposed to protect the rider’s head, was torn off.
No doubt Alfa Romeo and the FIA will conduct a detailed investigation, find out what damage the car has suffered and analyze all available information. But the most important thing, in my opinion, is that when she turned around and kept moving at high speed, Zhou was all the while under the protection of Halo, made of titanium, and the sides of the cockpit.
Halo is quite simple in design, but it saves lives. For its implementation, we must thank the FIA, especially its former president Jean Todt, as well as Charlie Whiting, who is no longer with us.
Speaking of the results of the race, I have to remind you that, like Carlos, I had to wait seven years for my first win in Formula 1, so I understand how happy he is and how relieved he felt. Winning a Grand Prix for the first time is a very important achievement. You suddenly realize that the years of hard work and maximum concentration were not in vain.
Carlos is a popular racer who certainly has talent, but he is inevitably compared to Charles Leclerc and falls somewhat in the shadow of his partner. If he wins, he will be able to take a heavy burden off his shoulders, the pressure will be less and I expect that he will now have more confidence in his own abilities.
But Ferrari hesitated, chose tactics and let Carlos and Charles fight each other, losing time, and Lewis Hamilton had already started overtaking them.
Judging by the radio conversations with the drivers, the Italian team tried to help Charles win, although his car was slightly damaged. In my opinion, Carlos acted brilliantly in that situation and then took full advantage of the advantage of fresh rubber. But if Ferrari wants to compete with Red Bull Racing in the second half of the season, they have to be more precise in their choice of tactics.
Finally, I would like to point out the skill that many riders have shown. Looking at the intense rivalry between Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, I thought this was the best advertisement for Formula 1, as they fought furiously but correctly, leaving each other exactly as much space on the track as needed. used to be. In my opinion, modern Formula 1 contains professionals of the highest level.
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
