Why hating the halo is pointless
The FIA using its safety veto to mandate the halo hasn't gone down well, but its critics are on the wrong side of history
From next year's Australian Grand Prix the halo cockpit ring will be imposed on Formula 1 after the FIA forced through regulation changes despite allegedly nine of the 10 teams being opposed to the introduction of the device pending further trials.
Over three years in the making - and delayed by a year - the halo was developed by Mercedes in reaction to a sequence of deaths and injuries in single-seaters. So it is particularly ironic that the team's non-executive chairman, Niki Lauda - who suffered horrific injuries in an accident 41 years ago next week - is one of the halo's most vocal critics, calling the device "the wrong one" and "an overreaction".
Share Or Save This Story
More from Dieter Rencken
Vettel: Last Ferrari step back to winning F1 titles will be hardest
Revealed: What F1 teams really spent in 2017
Aftermath of Hamilton Baku clash Vettel's 'worst feeling' of 2017
Why F1 is sitting on a timebomb of contradictions
Lewis Hamilton hopes Fernando Alonso is in 2018 F1 title fight
How teams lost patience with F1's new era
Michael Schumacher doubted himself, reveals ex-Ferrari F1 boss Todt
Why Todt's reign is eight years longer than planned
Latest news
Everything you need to know about the pitwall in F1 - who sits there and what does it do?
Alpine: "Shock" of having slowest F1 car triggered tech revamp
How Bruce McLaren's death shaped more than just his F1 team
Both DS Penske in the points in São Paulo
Autosport Plus
How Bruce McLaren's death shaped more than just his F1 team
Why Mohammed Ben Sulayem believes his mission to create a strong FIA is so important
The Beckham clues as to where Verstappen and Red Bull are heading
How Bearman's F1 debut will help Mercedes on its Hamilton replacement call
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.