Hockenheim, Germany - Formula One commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone said the decision not to introduce the halo head protection system in 2017 was unanimous, despite a raft of drivers demanding the innovation be brought in.
The F1 Strategy Group made up of Ecclestone, the governing FIA and various team bosses decided on Thursday not to implement the idea next season and to see if a better version can be brought in for 2018.
“Everybody agreed. It was unanimously against,” Ecclestone was quoted as saying in British media on Friday.
The Strategy Group may well have been against the idea but most drivers want the halo, a contraption that fits over the cockpit to deflect objects that might be heading for the driver's helmet.
“We had a vote among the drivers and 95 percent voted for it,” four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel told a news conference on Thursday.
“I don't think there's anything really that justifies death.”
Marussia driver Jules Bianchi died last year, nine months after sustaining severe head injuries when he hit a recovery truck at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Test driver Maria de Villota died in 2013, 15 months after a crash while Felipe Massa suffered a fractured skull after being hit by a metal coil from another car in 2009.
Supporters say the halo would have helped in all these incidents but critics say it is ugly and blocks the driver's vision.
The halo has been tested in practice this season while a Red Bull-inspired “aeroscreen” failed initial tests, but team boss Christian Horner still thinks it is a better bet than the halo.
“As a team we're not fans of the halo system. I think it's an inelegant solution and I'm not so sure it is a complete solution,” he said.
“Rather than do half a job it's better to take a bit more time and do it properly.”
DPA
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