Todt and the introduction of the Halo
Jean Todt was a central figure in a Formula 1 that changed its skin in a few years. The Frenchman entered the paddock in 1993 as general manager of Ferrari: these were years when the Circus seemed to have found serenity (in the last decade no driver had died in a race weekend), but the tragic Imola weekend of 1994 brought the pinnacle of motorsport back to earth, imposing drastic changes on the safety side.
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After his long experience in Maranello, Todt became president of the FIA. During his mandate, the last fatal accident in a race occurred, that of Jules Bianchi in 2014. Exactly like the tragedy of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, the Frenchman’s death also forced the Federation to change its pace on safety, an area in which much had been done but evidently not enough. It was Todt himself who promoted and introduced the Halo in 2018 to protect the drivers’ heads.
Todt’s words
“That accident was devastating for everyone: for the family, for the sport, even for my son, who was his manager and loved him like a brother,” the Frenchman stated on the High Performance podcast. “We committed even more, also because already in 2009 there was Felipe Massa’s accident, hit by a spring that almost destroyed his head. I told myself it was time to act and so a proposal was made to me about the Halo.”
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“At the time, the head of this program was Laurent Mekies, who now manages Red Bull,” he added. “When the proposal was submitted to the teams and drivers, many opposed it. They said, ‘This is not Formula 1.’ So I asked the engineers if this solution would better protect the head. They told me yes, and so we introduced it. Romain Grosjean, immediately after the announcement of the decision, commented that it was a sad day for Formula 1. In 2020, however, in Bahrain, the Halo saved his life. Without it, he would have been decapitated.”
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