Opinion is divided among drivers, fans, team personnel, with it appearing to be the case that the majority think the halo is a step too far in terms of risk management, and aesthetically awful. Drivers including Vettel and Massa are for it, however. Massa was of course hit in the face by a loose piece of suspension in Hungary 2009, so he will naturally want to see a change of this kind.
The FIA and some teams have also suggested trialing a closed cockpit. There have been conceptual sketches and ideas have been circulating, but would this be a viable alternative to the halo?
I think closed cockpits would be the end of Formula One as we know it. The open cockpit and the open, unprotected wheels, are fundamental to Formula One. An enclosed cockpit is a called a sports car, and we have a World Endurance Championship for closed cockpit sports car. They also enclose the wheels.
I also do not believe a fully enclosed cockpit can work fully in all conditions. In bright, low sunlight the diffusion of light on a canopy would be ruinous for driver vision. In rain, and spray, the canopy would be hard to see through, and might mist up if certain systems failed.
Its defenders maintain that at 100mph+ the rain droplets will simply be blown off the screen, so that you would not need a windscreen wiper, but what about oil and grease droplets from the cars in front, molten pieces of rubber (known as marbles).
Drivers currently have 4-6 ‘rip off’ plastic screens across their visors which they pull off every 20-25 minutes during a Grand Prix because of the build up of debris and oils; how can you clean an enclosed perspex canopy?
And then you come to extraction in the event of an accident, especially one in which the cockpit canopy was damaged; could a trapped driver be easily reached, in the vital seconds it takes to save a life in the case of a blocked airway?
There are a lot of points here, and I know the FIA has been looking at all of them. Hence their decision, initially at least, to pursue the halo concept.
What do you think of Alonso’s accident? He walked away relatively unscathed – although he has sustained rib fractures. Would the halo have helped?
The halo would not have affected the accident but it definitely would have protected Fernando even more. He would also still have been able to climb out - this has been tested.
I am certain we will see these introduced in 2017 in the style Ferrari tested in Spain in February.
Feedback
