Safety measure delights Vettel

ON the eve of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel cited the death of British driver Justin Wilson as reason why the halo, Formula One’s controversial cockpit safety device which will become mandatory next year, must be introduced.

Following a meeting of the sport’s major players in Geneva earlier this month, the FIA revealed it has given the go-ahead with its plans to introduce the device in 2018.

The halo, with its three prongs which runs at approximately head height around the cockpit, is designed to protect the driver from flying debris.

The FIA’s bid to improve head protection accelerated after the deaths of Henry Surtees, son of Britain’s 1964 world champion John Surtees, during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch in 2009, and Wilson, who was competing in an IndyCar event in the summer of 2015.

Both drivers were killed after they were struck on the head by car parts from other accidents.

Jules Bianchi also became the first F1 driver to die following injuries sustained at a grand prix weekend since Ayrton Senna in 1994 after he crashed into a tractor at Suzuka nearly three years ago. The halo, however, would not have saved his life.

The halo has courted criticism for its aesthetic.

Britain’s Jolyon Palmer blasted its impending introduction as the “end of Formula One as we know it,” while Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean also voiced concerns.

However, Vettel, a staunch advocate for improved safety in the sport, said: “Offer the halo to Justin Wilson, and he would take it and we would all be happy to take it to help save his life. You can’t turn back the clock but knowing something is there which helps us to save others would be ignorant and stupid to ignore it.”