The FIA could soon be faced with the choice of forcing through its introduction of a new safety Halo for its cars in the 2017 season, or delaying it for another year after Red Bull on Tuesday made clear it is not ready to support the device’s introduction.
The governing body said Tuesday they are happy that the Halo is “technically ready” to be fitted to Formula 1 cars next season, a sentiment that was relayed after Tuesday’s latest round of testing of the most recent version of the device.
The overall design was tweaked this time around in an effort to make it less bulky and to ensure there was no risk of a driver’s head hitting the device in the event of a crash. Further changes include constructing the Halo out of a lighter titanium.
Named the “Halo 2,” the device was successfully tested at both the Austrian and British Grands Prix, the latter of the two which saw it fitted to a crash-test dummy to help the FIA’s medical crews gain a better understanding of how to work with it.
Despite the headway made in the device’s development, some teams remain unwilling to commit to installation of the Halo 2 for the 2017 season — Red Bull Tuesday said they feel the device is not yet good enough to be voted in next season, and said they will stand against it if it is presented to teams.
They aren’t alone in the matter.
Former Red Bull driver, now a member of Scuderia Ferrari, and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel voiced his own reservations of the current design. Vettel said he experienced visibility issues when he tested the device on his car on Friday at Silverstone.
“You lose quite a bit [of visibility] on top of you,” he said. “You’re not looking in the sky all the time when you go around, but I think it needs some further running. I know the decision is up fairly soon. I don’t know what the results are on the actual research…
“I think it’s clear what it’s made for and it’s clear what it’s supposed to do, we just need to make sure we introduce something that is safer in all circumstances, and we don’t make any compromises.
Due to the time frame limits of such changes being implemented for the 2017 season, only a unanimous vote could support a rules change like the Halo 2, so a single team standing in the way would block the FIA’s desires.
Red Bull principal Christian Horner said after the British Grand Prix that he would vote against the current designs of the Halo 2.
“Personally I am not a big fan of the Halo,” he said. “I think it is an inelegant solution to the problem it is trying to deal with. I would prefer there to be more research time taken to do the job properly rather than rushing something through that may have other consequences. I am not a big fan of the Halo and the limitations that it has.”
“I certainly wouldn’t vote in favor at the moment,” he added.
For more Formula 1 coverage, please visit our hub page.