F1 fans are all saying the same thing about controversial safety measure after Yuki Tsunoda’s huge Imola crash

Yuki Tsunoda suffered a horrifying accident during qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver was taken to the medical centre after walking away from the crash.

The Japanese driver lost his RB21 through the Villeneuve chicane, spinning onto the gravel and into the barriers. The force of the impact sent the car barrel-rolling on top of the tyre wall before coming to a stop right-side up on the gravel.

The dramatic crash brought out the red flag almost immediately as Tsunoda’s car needed to be collected and the barriers needed repairing. Thankfully, the 25-year-old is OK, but he will be starting from the back of the grid for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

It is exactly what the Japanese driver did not need amid pressure from his team. Tsunoda is not meeting Red Bull’s ‘low standards’ as Max Verstappen’s teammate, scoring nine points from four races since replacing Liam Lawson.

Pressure is beginning to mount on Tsunoda as he looks to fight for higher places. His accident at Imola will be costly, but F1 fans are just grateful he has walked away unscathed.

F1 fans praise the halo device after watching Yuki Tsunoda’s horror crash at Imola

Introduced for the 2018 season, the halo device has been credited with saving countless drivers from serious injuries in crashes. The most notable examples include Romain Grosjean in 2020 and Zhou Guanyu in 2022, both sustaining minor injuries for their respective crashes.

After seeing how dramatic Tsunoda’s incident was, F1 fans rushed to X (formerly Twitter) to express their gratitude for the safety measure. The crash would have been a lot more serious had the halo not been on the car.

“Thank goodness for the Halo – this was a deadly crash! Glad he survived!” commented one fan, while another echoed: “Thank God for having the roll hoop on the car.”

Several fans were delighted to see the Red Bull driver walk away from the incident. One said: “Glad he’s walked away from that. Halo clutching again.”

“The fact he’s just walked off is wild, the safety features nowadays are so good,” wrote another. Many expressed their relief that the appropriate safety measures did their job, as one user said: “Thank god for the halo man so happy he got away unscathed, while another said: “Antiroll bar and halo in clutch.”

Sky Sports broadcaster and former F1 driver Karun Chandhok also gave his reaction to the crash, as he posted: “Oooof…… glad to see that Yuki’s ok!”

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

Max Verstappen was against the introduction of the halo device in Formula 1

The halo device was highly controversial when it was brought into the sport in 2018. It is not the most aesthetically pleasing part of an F1 car, as many key figures were quick to point out.

Interestingly, Tsunoda’s Red Bull teammate Verstappen was against the halo not just for its looks. Speaking via quotes from The Guardian, the Dutchman did not think it was necessary at all; he may think differently now after seeing the Japanese driver’s nasty crash at Imola.

“There needs to be a certain element of risk,” he said. “You can improve the car but we don’t need this thing on top of it. It’s not just the looks, I don’t think it is necessary.

“With the virtual safety car a lot of risks are taken out already, the wheel tethers are quite strong so it is not easy to lose a wheel. If there is a part flying off the car it is not going to protect you anyway.”