Melbourne, Australia - The prototype “halo” head protection device, aimed at shielding Formula One drivers from flying debris, is on track to be adopted for the 2017 season pending a safety review.
The halo, which is fixed to the cockpit at three points including a central pillar right in front of the driver, made its debut in Spain earlier this month.
F1 drivers' mixed reaction to halos
Red Bull, whose team principal Christian Horner has expressed misgivings over the halo's design, is developing a separate device but race director Charlie Whiting said on Friday it was unlikely to be ready in time for 2017.
Whiting told reporters at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne: “I think the halo's going pretty well, It's been tested quite extensively now, and I think it will offer very good protection for a flying wheel, for example, that's the main way it's been tested so far.
“We need to do a thorough risk assessment on it, we need to look at a number of other related things like extrication. We've got to talk to the medical crews about it. But I think it's going quite well.”
DEATHS
Improving head protection became a priority after the deaths in 2015 of Briton Justin Wilson, a former F1 racer who suffered head injuries from debris in an IndyCar crash, and Frenchman Jules Bianchi.
Whiting said a working group led by Mercedes and Ferrari hoped to set standard specifications for the halo by the end of May to allow teams to incorporate it into their designs for the 2017 cars.
Most drivers favour the halo, but some have reservations about how quickly they could get out of their cars after an accident.
Whiting had few concerns about that, though, pointing to Ferrari's test of the device in Spain.
“One team did put a halo on their car, and did get the driver to see how quickly they could get out, and it looked perfectly simple, and arguably easier, because the driver can get hold of this thing and lift himself out much easier,” he said.
“It looked very simple, I must say.”
Reuters