Our preview to new F1 season

Halo is here, but will established order be shaken up on track?

ONE very obvious change has taken place during Formula One’s winter break: every car on the grid now sports an unmissable ‘Halo’ head protection device over the driver – the product of intense discussion, development and testing since the deaths of Henry Surtees, Justin Wilson and Jules Bianchi in recent years focused attention on the safety of open-roof cars.

To say the move has been divisive would be an understatement. Many in the sport are supportive of efforts to improve safety, but many are also dismayed at the visual impact Halo has had on the cars.

Whether the design will be refined or changed in subsequent years remains to be seen, but it’s here to stay in its current guise for the duration of the 2018 season.

Halo aside, there may not be big change elsewhere in Formula One this year. Preseason testing suggests Mercedes could be the team to beat again, with Ferrari and Red Bull perhaps closer than in 2017.

Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton seems as driven and committed as ever and his team claims to have isolated the car handling and set-up issues that on occasion blunted their charge last year.

We’ve spoken to Hamilton, his teammate Valtteri Bottas and team boss Toto Wolff ahead of the first race this weekend, while on the following pages, we break down 2018’s runners and riders in full.

“Every car on the grid now sports the unmissable ‘Halo’ head protection”