The future of the halo will be debated at next week’s F1 Strategy Group meeting, after drivers were given a chance to quiz the FIA about the device on Friday.
With teams already developing their 2017 cars, the FIA is keen to get the halo approved and finalize its design. A presentation gave the drivers – the people who will be most affected by it – an opportunity to air their views, following a similar event in Austin last year.
Race director Charlie Whiting, safety director Laurent Mekies and long-time safety consultant Andy Mellor conducted the presentation, in which they showed examples of past accidents in F1, GP2 and GP3, and detailed how the halo would have behaved. They answered questions from drivers about different types of accidents, and also discussed visibility issues, such as how it might impact the driver’s view on an undulating track like Spa.
Crucially the presentation also included video of tests with the Red Bull-developed aeroscreen, included an explanation of why the FIA has concluded that the halo is a better solution.
Sources suggest that the overall presentation made a big impact on the drivers, but they remain split about the halo’s future, with some still considering that completely open cockpits are part of the sport’s DNA.
“The arguments they gave us regarding safety were strong,” said Dany Kvyat after the presentation. “They gave us cases of when the wheel comes off, when you do this or do that. Obviously if you really want we can make F1 completely sterile and completely safe – but the question mark is where we need to stop.
“I don't know if it is already a step too far or we have just reached the borderline with the halo. I might be playing with the devil and I have said many times that when I come to the racetrack, I know that it might be my last day in the office. It looks like now, it is a bit fading away. I am not trying to be a hero or anything but in the end we are also racing for other people and in the end F1 is a show. But that is why it is so popular.”
“I think it's very clear it saves lives, I'm 100 percent sure,” said Carlos Sainz. “Aesthetically no one likes it, so we need to balance how much is worth it to save a life per five or 10 years against how bad the repercussion against Formula One is. I think the voting will start soon and everybody will put their hands up in favor or against, but the FIA will do all they can to provide with an item that actually works pretty well in many situations.”
Sainz admitted that the presentation had hit home: “I think after the slide they showed us today and the images, they are quite shocking. You can see what it does and how many lives it could have saved. The drivers even if we hate it and we know it's not the DNA of our sport, when you look at it it actually makes sense. I don't like it, but it's something that even if you don't like it it's like when your dad tells you you are wrong. You know he's right, but you don't want to admit it.”
