Friday’s Hot Clicks: New Invention Saves F1 Driver in Terrifying Crash

An F1 driver escaped serious injury and perhaps even death thanks to a new device added to cars this season.

How to survive a car flying at your head

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

An F1 driver escaped serious injury and perhaps even death thanks to a new device added to cars this season, an official investigation found. 

Charles LeClerc was miraculously uninjured when Fernando Alonso’s car went flying straight at his head at the Belgian Grand Prix in August. The protective cockpit halo, a new addition for the 2018 season, bore the brunt of the impact and was all chewed up in the aftermath.

F1 then commissioned an official investigation to determine just how big a role the halo played in sparing LeClerc. The investigation was conducted by the FIA Global Institute, which is run by F1’s governing body.

The findings are full of science terms but make it clear that the halo saved LeClerc from serious injury, at the very least. The most important conclusion is that the wheel of Alonso’s vechicle struck LeClerc’s halo with 58 kilonewtons of force. That was 46% of the force that the halo is designed to withstand, but was still enough to crack the halo in places. Had the wheel struck LeClerc’s unprotected head, he would have suffered at least a very serious head or neck injury. 

LeClerc, like many drivers, was actually opposed to the halo when it was first instituted. 

“I have never been a fan of the halo but I have to say that I was very happy to have it over my head today,” he said after the crash. “I felt the impact and looking at the image of my car it is quite spectacular.”

What’s with all these new football leagues?

Let’s review the last nine days in non-NFL football news:

• Nov. 28: The Alliance of American Football holds its quarterback draft. 

• Dec. 5: The revived XFL announces its host cities.

• Dec. 6: Ricky Williams and Terrell Owens announce plans for the Freedom Football League.

Are we really going to go from one pro football league to four pro football leagues in the next couple of years? What makes these new leagues think they won’t end up like the UFL? At best they’re going to feature a quality of play on par with mid-major college teams, and without the college ties that attract fans.

The best of SI

There has been an explosion in long plays in the NFL this year. ... Blake Griffin is turning into a well-rounded superstar. ... The Paul Goldschmidt trade shows that MLB teams are either all in or all out. ... Zac and Press Taylor could be the next Jon and Jay Gruden or John and Jim Harbaugh. 

Around the sports world

The New York Times takes a look at superstitions in NFL locker rooms. ... Tua Tagavailoa is recovering from a minor ankle surgery, so he’s traveling by private plane to the Heisman ceremony. ... LeBron reportedly wants Carmelo Anthony to join the Lakers. ... The Mets’ GM, who was previously Tim Tebow’s agent and is definitely not biased at all, thinks Tebow is very close to playing in the majors. ... Former MLB players Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo were killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic. 

99 yards for Derrick Henry!

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Anything can happen on live TV

오늘자 NBA 혈전 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
그 와중에도 프로다운 자세... #갓현일 pic.twitter.com/wFw6r3Zi8C

— SPOTV (@Spotv_sports) December 6, 2018

Bring your home appliances next time an NBA player is signing autographs

Klay's reaction to a fan asking him to sign his toaster is priceless. 😂 (via @R_Dollaz) pic.twitter.com/y29GCVfG8c

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 14, 2017

Stephen A. Smith with the best ad read of all time

If you missed the GOAT's radio show today @stephenasmith was electric (chirp) and he also delivered an impeccable read for 1800-Flowers in the middle of torching everyone. pic.twitter.com/xZ4v0chV9Y

— Ryan Cortes (@Ryan_Cortes) December 6, 2018

I assume this is a cool cricket thing

Torts came down with a cold

Well played, @BlueJacketsNHL 👏 pic.twitter.com/qyMNvo54qv

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 7, 2018

Not sports

Hawaiian seals keep getting eels stuck up their noses. ... 24 Amazon employees were hospitalized after a robot punctured a can of bear spray in a warehouse. ... Kelloggs is making beer out of rejected corn flakes to reduce waste. 

This bobcat is a real piece of work

Watch these wildlife officials struggle to stay alive as they release the world's most badass bobcat kitten back into the wild. The bobcat, who we're calling Mr. Murderbritches, was relocated after he was caught eating 🐔🐔🐔 in Kanarraville, UT.

Long live Mr. Murderbritches! pic.twitter.com/j0ABaR8cqk

— Center for Biological Diversity (@CenterForBioDiv) December 5, 2018

Uhh, gross

A 36-year-old man was admitted to the ICU with an acute exacerbation of chronic #heartfailure. After a ventricular assist device was placed & anticoagulation therapy initiated, hemoptysis developed, and he expectorated a cast of the right bronchial tree. https://t.co/QfqeqwWzXt pic.twitter.com/nXW201rjCT

— NEJM (@NEJM) December 3, 2018

In English: A guy coughed up a blood clot shaped like the right side of his lung. Doctors don’t know how it came out in one piece. 

His heart was in the right place

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.