Last weekend’s British Grand Prix was one of the most eventful races of the Formula 1 season so far. The dramatic race began with a massive red flag-inducing crash that had every spectator around Silverstone Circuit and every fan watching on television holding their breath. The multi-car incident resulted in Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo shearing his roll hoop and launching into a catch fence. He was thankfully okay, just stuck in his car between the fence and the Armco barrier. However, Zhou’s crash overshadowed another terrifying collision in the Formula 2 support race earlier that day.
In the F2 feature race, Williams academy driver Roy Nissany decided to aggressively defend his position after running his car wide at Stowe and rejoining the track. Dennis Hauger, the reigning F3 champion, saw an opportunity for an easy pass and took it. Nissany immediately veered left into Hauger’s car. Hauger was pushed into the grass, becoming a passenger in his own vehicle. Both drivers were headed to the Vale chicane, Nissany on the track and Hauger off of it. As Nissany rounded the corner, Hauger’s car ramped off the inside sausage curb and straight into Nissany’s cockpit.
Nissany and Hauger were both able to exit their destroyed cars unharmed in a collision that could have been far worse. The Halo cockpit safety device was the only thing preventing Roy Nissany from getting decapitated. The sausage curb at Vale’s apex might have enabled Hauger to go airborne, but Nissany’s dangerous driving put him in that situation.
Roy Nissany has been public enemy number one since the season-opening round in Bahrain. The Williams academy driver began his 2022 F2 campaign by taking out 2019 Macau Grand Prix winner Richard Verschoor as well as another driver. The stewards chose not to even investigate either collision.
In Bahrain, Verschoor spoke to RaceFans.net:
“This is not racing. This is purposely driving someone off the track, not caring whether you will crash. This is over the limit and not acceptable, go choose another sport. It’s honestly ridiculous, he should not have a license. It’s more than dangerous.”
For what happened at Silverstone, Nissany received a five-place grid penalty and three penalty points on his race license. If a driver in Formula 2 receives 12 penalty points over a 12-month period, they will be banned from the next round of competition. Many drivers in the F2 paddock would like to see Nissany get a race ban, but it doesn’t seem like the stewards feel that he isn’t an inordinate danger to the rest of the field. If sending a car airborne towards his own head is worth three points, I don’t want to imagine what’s worth more.