Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff admits the incident involving Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso in Belgium vindicated the decision to introduce Halo into Formula 1.
The cockpit protection device was hugely criticised on almost all sides predominantly on aesthetic grounds when the FIA forced through its use this season on safety grounds.
Wolff was among those voices claiming he wanted to take a saw to the Halo but after the governing body confirmed this week it did prevent a likely head injury for Leclerc during the spectacular start crash at Spa, the Austrian has “changed my mind”.
“I still don’t like the aesthetics of it, and I hope we can find a solution in the future that looks good,” he continued
“[But] I really like Charles, he’s a young, upcoming racer that deserves to be in Formula 1 and I would not have forgiven myself if we would have voted against the Halo and we’d have had a severe incident with a potentially catastrophic outcome.
“So, even though it’s aesthetically not what I like it’s a super initiative that has shown its merit.
“I’m happy that Jean [Todt, FIA president] pushed through and they didn’t give me a chainsaw at the beginning of the season.”
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Work is ongoing on improving the Halo concept with a second generation design touted for 2021 if not sooner with Wolff still keen to address the visual aspect.
“We need to get the right balance between aesthetics and safety,” the Mercedes chief added. “I personally like the closed canopies like fighter jets.
“Between the teams, the FIA and the commercial rights holder, we just need to work proactively and in a collaborative manner to find solutions that look great and save lives.”