The Massa accident was years before, though. I think the main impetus that got development of the halo going was one of the major start accidents in the Belgian GPs of recent years, which ironically Grosjean started by colliding with Lewis Hamilton, and his car sailed over Fernando Alonso's Ferrari, with a tire missing Alonso's helmet by inches.
The System was thankfully in place by the time Alonso sailed over Charles Leclerc's Sauber car a few years ago in the same corner; the halo was stripped of all livery and coating stuff, scrubbed down to the titanium by the impact, which may or may not have taken Leclerc's head clean off.
(For an instance of an F1 driver taking a rear wheel to the head and walking it off check out the 1994 Brazil crash involving Jos Verstappen, Eddie Irvine, and Martin Brundle, with the latter taking the beating. (I can't bring up Youtube in the office ...
) Unfortunately that was as good as it got for F1 in '94......)
Haas has two reserve drivers in Pietro Fittipaldi, who was in Indycars a few years back? ... and F2 driver Louis Deletraz, who is scheduled to compete in the F2 season finale at the same track next week.