Does the halo have a place in Formula 1?
It's not just the Formula 1 paddock where the halo cockpit-protection concept has divided opinion. EDD STRAW and MARCUS SIMMONS argue for and against the system
Ferrari's trial of the halo head-protection concept in Formula 1 pre-season testing last week reignited the debate over safety in motorsport's highest echelon.
As the FIA continues to investigate how to improve driver protection, an issue that gained greater weight in 2015 with the deaths of Jules Bianchi and Justin Wilson, the possibility of the halo (or equivalent) becoming mandatory in F1 looks more likely than ever.
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Marcus Simmons is the Deputy Editor of Autosport magazine. As a child he was a regular on the chalk banks of Thruxton – hence his unhealthy obsession with 1970s Formula 2 and F3 – before he became an MSA timekeeper at the age of 17. At 19, his reporting debut for Motoring News arguably overshadowed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal as the sporting moment of June 1986, and he joined the staff in 1990 after graduating from his degree course in Plymouth. A parallel Formula First career – which was as incident-packed as his childhood exploits in show-jumping and hunter trials – finished when he wrote off his car and put himself in hospital in 1991.
Marcus moved to Autosport in the summer of 1996. Since then he has had two stints as a freelancer and a brief spell as editor of Motor Sport magazine, during which the revered green cover was revived, before he rejoined Autosport in 2008. He lives in Teddington with his wife (who, gratifyingly, grew up within earshot of Castle Combe), daughter, stepson, dog, cat and guitars, and additionally has an adult daughter and stepson.
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