SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – A harrowing first-lap crash during Sunday’s Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix saw the integrity of the FIA Halo device tested and Charles Leclerc walk away unscathed after Fernando Alonso’s McLaren flew over the top of his Sauber on Sunday at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

The incident began when Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg locked up the brakes on the approach to turn one during the initial start. With no way to control his machine, Hulkenberg careened headlong into the back of Alonso’s McLaren, sending it airborne as a spray of carbon fiber and metal debris erupted in its wake.

As Alonso’s car sailed through the air, it passed directly above Leclerc’s red and white machine, with the undercarriage and tires of the McLaren impacting and scuffing up the white Halo on the Sauber.

The papaya orange McLaren then came to rest on all four wheels as the field streamed by, but remarkably, both drivers quickly exited their cars and walked away uninjured from the dramatic scene.

Alonso was particularly critical of Hulkenberg in the wake of the incident,

“I’m disappointed. We made a good start. There were a couple of possibilities of overtaking in turn one – you play it cautious, you brake at the same point – but then I looked in my mirrors and saw the guys behind me behaving as if this was the last corner of the championship,” said Alonso. “I saw Nico in the mirrors coming with all four wheels locked (up) at a very high speed. He completely missed the braking point by a long way, not just a couple of meters.

“There was no way I could avoid that; then I felt the impact and flew over Charles’ car. Nico played bowling a little bit with us today.”

However, Alonso praised the advances in safety that the FIA has made in recent months, particularly after the Halo – which was implemented prior to the start of the season – absorbed the impact and kept Leclerc out of harm’s way.

“It’s sad to see this happen, because usually these kinds of accidents have major consequences, but on the positive side, everyone involved is fine … especially Charles, as I flew over his car,” Alonso noted. “Not that we needed any proof, but the halo showed again today it is a very good thing to have on the car. I feel okay, but we need to wait a couple of hours to see how things develop when it cools down.”

Despite the spectacular-looking nature of the crash, Leclerc spoke to reporters after returning to the paddock and was grateful for the safety measures in his race car that aided him during the shunt.

“Definitely, the Halo probably helped today,” said Leclerc. “It’s a very unfortunate ending, though, because I think the potential we had for this race today was big and it’s a shame to finish it that way after just the first corner. I don’t really know exactly where we could have finished, but our pace was strong and I was in a good place before I got hit from behind.

“I don’t know if it’s a (mechanical) problem or if it was a mistake he made, but for sure it was probably a little bit too much.”

Meanwhile, Hulkenberg shouldered the blame for the crash that eliminated all three drivers from the race.

“There was no problem (with the car),” said Hulkenberg. “It’s just incredible to find out on lap one again just how sensitive these cars are … with aerodynamics when you have a few cars that bunch up in front of you. You lose so much grip and load. When I hit the brakes, it instantly locked up the front wheels. After that, I was just sliding into Fernando.

“It was probably a bit of a misjudgement on my side … a bit too late on the brakes, but it’s obviously frustrating for him (Alonso) and for Charles as well, in addition to myself,” Hulkenberg added. “That’s racing and unfortunately these things happen. We have Monza next weekend, so I want to get this out of the system as soon as possible and focus on that.”

The matter went before the stewards on Sunday afternoon and Hulkenberg was handed a 10-place grid penalty for next week’s Italian Grand Prix due to his role in triggering the multi-car accident.

“The driver of car (No.) 27 stated that he completely misjudged the situation and freely admitted it was his mistake,” wrote the stewards in their ruling.