WATCH: Halo praised following Formula E crash dubbed ‘terrible parking job’

A FATAL accident in Formula E was thankfully avoided on Saturday, August 13, thanks to the halo, a driver crash-protection system used in open-wheel racing series. The crash has since been dubbed a ‘terrible parking job’ in a video that has gone viral.

Nyck de Vries has praised Formula E’s halo after he ended up underneath Sebastien Buemi’s Nissan in a opening lap crash of the Seoul E-Prix.

The drivers appeared to be caught out on the race’s first lap when several cars wiped out on Turn 20-21 and hit the wall.

Bizarrely, de Vries’ Mercedes managed to lift up Buemi who had crashed before him and ended up submarined under the Nissan.

Thankfully, the halo did its job and held the Nissan away from the 27-year-old’s head.

However, De Vries suggested that the accident looked scarier than it was, insisting that he was not moving particularly quickly when he went into the back of Buemi’s car.

Speaking to Autosport, the 2021 series champion said: “Thank God, we have the halo, although I think it looked scarier than it was.

“Actually, it was quite slow. To look at the video, it actually almost looks like it’s in slow motion. Tricky conditions, very poor visibility.

“And you know how it is, you see so little you judge your kind of braking point on the cars around you.”

He added: “I’m not putting the blame on them, obviously, it’s my responsibility. But I think everyone just got caught out by it, simple.

“When you go subtly offline [at Turn 20] there’s just zero grip, and you hit this concrete patch with a manhole. And that’s enough.

“But yeah, I think everyone was just a bit late on brakes, and unfortunately that was the end of our race.”

Videos of the incident began circulating on social media along with a mixed bag of comments.

Gabe Rosenberg wrote: “Terrible parking job tbh.”

https://twitter.com/gaber205/status/1558418071919935489?s=21&t=ny9eU6Mb4gpqsgQch5BhsQ

Another wrote: “Formula E, what are you doing?”

Formula E, what are you doing?pic.twitter.com/1kFQUqNQ4F

— Dan – EngineMode11 (@EngineMode11) August 13, 2022

While another wrote: “I don’t want any context for this formula E “crash”, this is a perfect video.”

I don’t want any context for this formula E “crash”, this is a perfect video https://t.co/gr5qqPp6Qm

— alex (@RogueZamboni) August 13, 2022

“Formula E try not to crash impossible challenge,” wrote another.

Formula E try not to crash impossible challenge https://t.co/QEp8C5rxLP

— LimitlessF1 (@Formula1Jd) August 13, 2022

Another person wrote: “Watching the Formula E replay. That’s a heck of a crash and yet I’m still very confused as to how that happened.”

https://twitter.com/nikkileah/status/1558392249687445504?s=21&t=ny9eU6Mb4gpqsgQch5BhsQ

On Sunday, July 3, F2 driver Roy Nissany was involved in a sickening crash and was lucky to walk away without fatal injuries, thanks to the halo safety system.