The solution for the halo's biggest annoyance

For the benefit of FIA president Jean Todt, I shall choose my words carefully. He doesn't like public criticism for the sake of it.

There is a problem with the design of the halo device that should be addressed. It is not the aesthetics of the halo itself; this is not yet another 'oh doesn't it look just terrible' rant. The problem is an unintended consequence on the overall visual identity of the car and the person driving it.

Every pre-season, without fail, drivers in all categories proudly show off their new crash helmets on social media. The trouble is that from now those helmets being used in F1 and other halo-protected categories are going to be very difficult to see.

Red Bull star Max Verstappen pointed out the root of the problem succinctly: "The whole thing already blocks your entire helmet design. I might just as well drive with a white helmet, as it doesn't matter anyway!"

Then reigning champion Lewis Hamilton repeated the joke ahead of Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix: "It's almost pointless of us painting the helmets nowadays so I'm probably going to get rid of my paint on mine."

F1 and the FIA went to great lengths last season to boost the identification of drivers, by upping the point size and clarity of numbers and adding name abbreviations to shark fins. The numbers on some cars are now quite clear to identify, but if you're watching a wide-angled TV shot or sitting in a grandstand, it makes little difference. And plonking something around the most obviously identifiable part of a car undoes a lot of that work.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen is an outspoken opponent of the halo, but his comments after venturing trackside were sensible and simple: "There's definitely a problem in recognising the driver. I've been watching Formula 1 my whole life, and I couldn't tell who was driving.

"It's going to be the same on television. When the whole field is going into the first corner you're not going to have a clue who is who. That's not great."

There's a split between basic black halos and ones that have been painted to match the full livery of the car they adorn. The feeling from testing was that the bare halos faded from view easily, so oddly colouring it the same as the car brought it more into view. Hoping people notice it as little as possible seems an odd strategy, though, when it's clearly such a divisive issue.

Targeting it head on, owning that aesthetic imperfection, feels like a stronger stance. Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly said: "You don't really see the helmets any more with the halo - or at least it's pretty difficult to see them. For the people in the grandstands it must be almost impossible.

Customising the halo is an imperfect solution, but it's wrong to say the issue is overblown. Enough drivers have identified it as a problem to prove this is not the opinion of a journalist with a grudge

"There must be some solution - maybe putting a nice design on the halo itself, even a flag or something like that, so the fans can identify who you are."

The preference for this writer - an opinion shared by Sebastian Vettel - would be for the halo to be a full imitation of the driver's crash helmet design, to add some colour and encourage unique colours.

Alternatively you could just apply two colours to each team and assign one to a driver. Or follow the DAMS Formula 2 team's lead and slap a driver name sticker on the side - that's surprisingly clear to see.

Customising halos is an imperfect solution to a small problem, but it would be wrong to say the issue is fictional or overblown. Enough drivers have identified it as a downside to prove that this is not just an opinion held by a journalist with a grudge against homogenous F1 cars.

Decorating the halo device might seem like a low-priority issue for F1 to devote time to. But it felt the need to discuss driver identification last season and the extended veiling of drivers for 2018 is part of the same problem.

"We need to live with it. But between Vandoorne and Alonso it's very difficult to know who is in the McLaren. We need to see if it's feasible" Romain Grosjean on customising the halo

A sport usually needs a new fan to develop a personal connection - like a kid playing football who wants to wear the same boots as Lionel Messi, or an older person finding rising Philadelphia basketball sensation Joel Embiid funny on Instagram and deciding to support the 76ers.

Even if the halo is only around for one or two seasons, that's enough time for F1 to be paraded in front of millions of new and existing viewers. And whether you agree with this argument or not, the simple fact is that the halo is another obstacle to overcome for a fan to identify a driver. F1's "gladiators", as Niki Lauda likes to call them, have become more and more cocooned from spectators' sight as it is.

The crash helmet has always been an obvious element of driver identification, from the early iterations of basic-striped lids to simple but effective designs from James Hunt or Gilles Villeneuve, through to the (probably over the top) exaggerated paintwork that adorns the helmets of current stars such as Hamilton. Perversely, helmets are now at their most extravagant in terms of design but their weakest in terms of their visual impact.

"It's sad we don't get to see the driver so much anymore," says Grand Prix Drivers' Association director and Magnussen's Haas team-mate Romain Grosjean.

"Driving you get used to it, it's here, we need to live with it. But between [McLaren drivers Stoffel] Vandoorne and [Fernando] Alonso it's very difficult to know which one is in the car. We just need to see if it's feasible or not [to individualise the halo]."

Sure, F1 has bigger issues to solve longer-term, but it would be arrogant to just assume this is not worth some time and attention. The popularity of Autosport stories about anything aesthetic, and the response to competitions like drivers letting fans help design their helmets, shows people really care about what they are looking at. And on that theme, what's the point in opening up a competition for fans to design a helmet they then can't really see in the car?

The importance to the fans is something Alonso has recognised. He pondered whether F1 should ask supporters to "make some suggestions for F1 to have some research on what they would like - on our side it doesn't make any difference, but to help the fans [it is good]".

Taking the earlier comparison of football to another level, part of the fun in the grandstands is the reaction to fan favourites or club legends. That would become immediately more difficult if you couldn't see a player's distinguishing features - their hair, their name or their boots, to name a few examples. The little things matter.

F1 chiefs clearly think there's enough individual interest in grand prix racing for it to invest heavily in an OTT service that can offer a very personalised viewing experience. This is targeted at a younger audience, the latest-generation of fans and the next one just around the corner. But if you make it hard for someone to become a bona fide supporter in the first place, you'll find the pool of people who are interested in such hardcore offerings shrinking.

Yes, F1 is not suddenly a grid of white cars with drivers in white helmets. We are only talking about telling two drivers apart. But fans shouldn't have to work hard in the slightest to get excited by something.

Todt dislikes "public criticism which is not good for the sport" because he sees no value in it, but he also points out that "constructive criticism is always good because it makes you move forward". That's what this is intended to be.

The message is simple: put those words into action, even if that action is simply to try to determine if there's anything that can be done. Personalised halo devices might be a blind alley but if they do not explore it they will never know, and that would be a mistake.