Halo is a curved crash-protection device that is mounted on the top of a Formula one car above the driver's head.
Introduced in 2018, Halo is designed to shield drivers from debris flying during an accident or when the car turns upside down. It weighs around 10 Kgs.
Accidents in the past have seen drivers being hit and even fatally wounded by debris flying across from cars ahead of them involved in accidents.
In 2009, Brazilian Felipe Massa was struck by a spring from Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn during qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.
In another incident, Henry Surtees, son of 1964 world champion John Surtees, was killed the same year after he was hit on the crash helmet by a tyre during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch.
In the recent crash involving Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu at the British GP on Sunday, it was the Halo that saved the Chinese driver after his car turtled during the incident.
