F1 could use Halo to show who is leading the championship – Todt

2018 F1 season

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Formula One could use the Halo in the same way yellow jersey is in the Tour de France when it is introduced for the 2018 F1 season, FIA president Jean Todt has suggested.

The yellow jersey is used in the French cycle race to signify which rider is the overall leader. Todt responded positively to a suggestion that a coloured Halo could be used to indicate which driver is leading the world championship.

Is Halo really as popular among drivers as the FIA claims?
“I’ve heard an idea I like: we should give the championship leader a halo in a special color,” said Todt to Auto Motor und Sport.

The artist’s impression above shows how a coloured Halo could look on the car of current world championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

However Todt indicated the idea may not be possible as some teams are already making arrangements to sell advertising space on the new safety structure.

Todt also responded to criticism from some drivers about the decision to introduce Halo next year. “That is why we need responsible people who lead the sport,” he said.

“I am only interested if something happens and before we could have done something to prevent it,” he added.

He claimed the idea had been received more positively in other championships.

“When I announced that we have the Halo for Formula E in the 2018-2019 season, there was no criticism,” said Todt. “Also with the introduction of the 2018 Formula Two car with Halo I have heard no negative comments. This shows that people get used to it.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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183 comments on “F1 could use Halo to show who is leading the championship – Todt”

  1. Yes and please make it bright gold, make it look even more stupid than it already is

    1. My thoughts exactly…

    2. It could be worse. It could be painted like a rainbow and the engine could make nyan nyan nyan nyan…

      1. Todt needs to go, along with the Halo. He thinks F1 fans can’t figure out who’s leading the championship? Dope.

        1. I think Todt should run along the race track during the race and bringing the number of the driver, like a lady on a boxing fight …..so the whole world know who is the championship leader

          http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/boxing-ring-girls-holding-at-wembley-stadium-london-press-association-picture-id674880026

          1. What a great idea ! ……but I’d like to improve it slightly.
            At every race, Todt must stand in in front of the pole car
            wearing a gold track-suit with a halo screwed to his head.
            Ten seconds before the lights go out he must sprint
            towards the first corner. If he is lucky he might just get
            there before the lead car car hits him. If we are lucky
            he won’t. Even better if Vettel is driving the lead car.
            Problem solved instantly.

          2. @gunusugeh Brilliant idea, but it should only happen if Todt is wearing a mankini.

    3. Who wants to wear the yellow g-string?

      The championships looking strong for the golden thong…

      I can hear it all now already.

    4. Haha, yeah – it’s dumb.

    5. Exactly! They need to make it as less visible as possible. Or they need to paint the tops of driver’s helmets like butts so it shows off the ‘thong.’

  2. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
    4th September 2017, 21:27

    Terrible, patronising idea. Either blend with car colour scheme or paint them in drivers helmet colours.

    1. oooh I like the idea of having them in driver helmet coulour tbh, they have akready tried to make it more obvious who is driving the car this season (made the driver numbers larger, changed position etc) so this would make sense (although as good as it may sound in theory I can imagine if not done well it could make the halo look worse)

      1. Hans (@hanswesterbeek)
        5th September 2017, 9:00

        Oh yes, definitely @aidanedgar! It has been posted on this site before, but you should really check out Sean Bull’s designs for halos in helmet colors. Makes the halo almost bearable for me:
        https://www.behance.net/gallery/55217351/Halo-Helmet-Liveries

        1. They look quite cool actually and would also serve a useful visual function too. I like it.

  3. What a terrible terrible idea. I have no more words.

    1. If like in Le Tour there are 100+ competitors I can go along with the idea

  4. This guy has some of the worst ideas I’ve ever seen

  5. The picture for this article is hilarious! I love it!

  6. Just terrible.

  7. What if F1 just painted Todt in gold leaf and sent him around in the track parade?

  8. There was no criticism of Formula E because a series needs first needs fans who will criticize something. There are no fans of Formula E, hence no criticism of the stupid halo.

    1. Probably more likely because in Formula E cars are always landing on top of one another.

    2. Formula E has quite a lot of fans… …most of whom are also F1 fans, aired their opinion there, and can see that the FIA refuses to see reason on the matter.

  9. Confirmed, Jean Todt is a moron.

    1. and pretentious

  10. Can you make it invisible?

    1. My thoughts as well.

    2. bernie once put CGI ads making grass invisible so….same here?

  11. If its not gonna be made of diamonds Hamilton will not have it

    1. Peppermint-Lemon (@)
      5th September 2017, 7:34

      Also…

      He has diamonds on the soles of his shoes so he can lose those walking blues! Diamonds on the soles of his shoes.

  12. How about giving the Halo a color scheme unique to the driver…like a helmet

    1. I had thought about it ;) But what kind of interesting colour scheme can you put on a round pipe? It would look like a mess.

    2. To me that is still the most sensible idea. Instead of obscuring who is driving it would help recognize the drivers/cars on track @malleshmagdum.

      Todt’s idea is just stupid.

    3. @malleshmagdum Sean Bull has been experimenting with this on Twitter, check it out here:

      https://twitter.com/seanbulldesign/status/904274231755763712

      Unfortunately I think while it’s good in theory, in practice it looks almost as stupid as the picture in the header of this article. Because it’s drawing attention to something which had a fundamentally poor aesthetic.

      Just blend it with the bodywork and be done with it I say.

      1. Off course that presumes that it CAN be blended in with the bodywork @offdutyrockstar! Yeah, I really love those renders, it makes the Halo look “good” as much as Helmets look good (both still hide the head of the driver and neither is beautiful as such), and at least makes up for obscuring the view of the head/face

        1. @bascb when I say blend it i just mean match the colour to the livery of the car. Anything else is simply emphasising the cockpit thong and making it stand out.

          1. Personally I doubt matching the colour will help much to to “hide” the halo. Dark colours (Renault, Red Bull, McLaren, Sauber) bright colours (Renault yellow, Red Bull, McLaren orange, STR red or blue) all make it stand out.

            Only the boring white and silver (although Merc could go for black too) would maybe help a bit. And on the Ferrari it will stand out as white on red, or red against the air or even black!

      2. @offdutyrockstar
        Thanks. Just like I presumed – it looks messy. Too bad he didn’t place the actual helmets in the cockpit to see how much they go/blend together.

        Putting a seperate colour scheme on the halo makes it look like a ribbon. Not good.

  13. This is not tour de bikeride Todt.

  14. Woah, there has never been a part of the car we could use and paint yellow to signify the championship leader.
    A yellow marking on the front and rear wing? – Nah, nearly impossible to do.
    A yellow marking on the side pods? – Nah, also way too difficult.
    But we’ve got the halo now! – Yay, finally doable! Let’s paint it yellow!

    But why would you wanna do that in the first place? Who needs that? Who would care?
    There often is just 1 championship lead change during the whole year.
    And if that marking was in place, it would only make sense to immediately apply it if there’s a lead change, which practically means – painting anew the halos on 2 cars during podium celebration.

    1. painting anew the halos on 2 cars during podium celebration.

      Am I the only one who actually wouldn’t mind seeing that at all?

    2. Now that idea of immediately repainting the Halo during the podium ceremony would make this at least interesting and a good show for the fans!

      We could even have the drivers do it themselves (or maybe with their engineers?) :-)

  15. What about making it clear?

    1. I should add, if any of you have been watching F1 since the 70’s, will the picture above be the ugliest F1 car you’ve seen since watching?

      1. I’m not sure, those platypus noses from 2012 still leave me wretching.

    2. Alas, the technology to make Halo clear isn’t there yet…

  16. GUYS…. Am I the first to see the car this way??

      1. If anything, that’s an improvement.

        Halo will only last until a detached tyre bounces off one and is launched a hundred feet in the air, coming down to squash a spectator a hundred yards away. Unfortunately it could be 30 years before this scenario plays out.

        1. Halo is about preventing drivers from harm not spectators, catch fencing does a fine job of preventing any debris from entering spectator areas.

    1. Normally Hamilton’s cars is kinda determimed looking, with her eyes squited forward. But Max Versappen just rear-ended him.

  17. When’s the next FIA President election, and is anyone decent standing?

      1. There was hope for this once, alas those days are gone.

    1. This year. Nobody else, as far as I know, stands much chance of getting the 22 votes from FIA members needed to stand against Todt.

  18. S.T.U.P.I.D.

  19. Is it April Fool’s already?

  20. Paraphrasing the Beattles: you say Halo, I say goodbye.

  21. How many sponsor stickers will Force India manage to apply to their halo?

    1. Probably loads, until the race where the FIA decides to ban the logos without notice and yells at them for doing their jobs properly.

  22. Michael Brown (@)
    4th September 2017, 22:59

    How stupid does Todt think F1 viewers are?

  23. Has Todt been listening to Goldfrapp, then? Good song, terrible idea.

  24. Why’s everyone insulting the new ideas? You must realise by now it makes them more likely to happen…

  25. I’m struggling to think of anything positive to say. I suppose they’re trying to make virtue out of necessity which is a good thing.

    But really this is a solution to a non-existent problem. In the Tour de France there’s loads of competitors and the yellow jersey is a useful way of identifying the overall leader. In F1 has very few competitors by comparison and the championship lead doesn’t tend to change hands very often. As @rdotquestionmark alluded to, the idea F1 fans needs help identifying the championship leader is patronising.

    Moreover I think what Todt fails to grasp, as his other comments make clear, is why the Halo is so unpopular. Even among those who accept it from a safety point of view the aesthetics are only being tolerated, not appreciated. In terms of styling the best they can do is make it as unobtrusive as possible. Turning it into something deliberately eye-catching is the exact opposite of what needs to be done.

    1. Maybe the kind of fans who dip in for 10 minutes and get upset if they don’t see 100 meaningless overtakes, leading to the advent of artificial gimmicks like DRS, do need help identifying the championship leader. They seem to be the only people F1 has been listening to for quite some time.

      1. Those people – and the majority of those considerably more committed than that – neither know nor care who is leading the championship until the last couple of races (at which point the media generally do an excellent job of informing people who is in the fight for the championship and, indeed, whether one is occurring at that point).

    2. @keithcollantine I think you should give yourself comment of the day there Keith!

      1. +1 comment of the day Kieth

        1. The halo seems like a Jean Todt power trip, like he’s proving a point from a meeting where he was criticized and he’s using his power to put a bad idea through.

          1. This.

            I think he’s showing new owners liberty who’s boss.

          2. @canadianjosh But he’s not using power and putting a bad idea through. He’s just commenting on an idea he likes, while also suggesting it might not work as teams are starting to sell sponsorship space on their halos, and it sounds to me like he hasn’t had a chance to hear from fans and the teams on this. I predict that now that articles about this like this one from Keith appear, he will be advised how unpopular and unnecessary it is.

    3. I follow what you have written but again F1 often shakes a stupid idea stick and drivers question the need for some rules, we fans too like to see the nonsense end and accept this halo as a first step to an even better idea. That would be a canopy in the near future safer even yet. The halo is here today find a better solution tomorrow and so what if it is yellow? When it becomes a marketing tool and people recognize it yellow will be popular

      1. Why not make it glitter as well then?

    4. Agree @keithcollantine Cotd. At least Todt said ‘That is why we need responsible people who lead the sport.’ And I believe there are some of those, like Brawn, and why this idea is a non-starter.

    5. I think the logic behind knowing who the championship leader is to facilitate new people watching F1 races not current F1 fans. But they are already trying to justify its existence for other reasons than safety which tells me maybe there are others not particularly fond of the solution in general.

  26. I’ll say what I’ve said before… again. HALO is a poor response to a perceived problem. If the FIA really wish to protect drivers they must go closed cockpit. Fighter planes, racing aircraft in the RBAR, not to mention WEC cars manage to have cockpits and canopies which withstand crashes and debris, and have done so for years, decades. F1 needs to follow suit for an aesthetically pleasing response to this safety issue.

    HALO is the ugliest addition to a racing car I’ve seen. I believe it is also not as safe as a proper canopy or windshield + canopy for small debris like in Massa’s incident.

    Todt must be loving the distraction the grid penalty issue is. People are starting to forget what an eyesore the HALO really is… painting it yellow will not change that either.

    1. The grid penalty issue is indeed the biggest distraction to F1’s issues. It’s hardly been a problem until this weekend when all of a sudden that is all people are talking about. It’s a solution that’s worked for so many years in F1, and it isn’t really broken.

      People aren’t forgetting what an eyesore it is, in fact, a lot of people probably haven’t even realised it yet. But many people have given up as it is in the rulebook now.

    2. Clay, you’re talking nonsense. First off, to say that the Halo, which has been tested for years, is poor response to a, as you said, ‘perceived’ problem speaks volumes of your ignorance of the situation. Secondly, windshields and full canopies have yet to pass testing and are clearly not race-ready, it’s especially the case of the canopy which would require major structural changes to the car. Lastly, WEC cars have roofs and doors, F1 do not. You are comparing and apples to oranges here.

      You shouldn’t reject something just because you don’t think it looks pretty.

      1. ‘Perceived problems’ can be real or not real. The problem the Halo is trying to solve isn’t real imho.

        There have litterally been no actual injuries to the head in the past that would have been prevented by the Halo (including Massa’s).

        Over the decades there Have been only a few examples where there MIGHT have happened something (like the Raikkonen/Alonso crash in Austria 2016) but in reality no head injury actually occured.

        Any business developer doing an audit that shows these results would either call the risk nihil and therefor the opportunity-cost to high, OR he/she would want to eliminatie the risk entirely and find a proper solution. In this case a full – blown canopy.

        To me the halo is a compromise between the true open-cockpit DNA of Formula racing and the proper safety-solution of a canopy. Therefor it’s a bad intervention.

        1. “There have litterally been no actual injuries to the head in the past that would have been prevented by the Halo (including Massa’s).”

          Rubbish, Jeffrey. I keep hearing this assertion from Halo dissenters, yet few of them can be bothered to back it up, and when they do, it’s always utter nonsense. In contrast, the FIA actually tested several of these scenarios and actually prove the opposite.

      2. Sure, I may be talking nonsense. However I’ll also say that HALO has been tested, yet the Shield got one lap and was discarded? I think most fans considered the Shield a better option than HALO from an aesthetic perspective. Just because it has been tested doesn’t make it the best possible option for solving a rare problem. Shield would have stopped the spring that hit Massa, guaranteed. HALO might have, but it might not have either. It also would have protected Wilson, and would have been just as effective in the Surtees incident too.

        Again I’ll say that fighter planes, tested against bullets and bird strikes at speeds no F1 car will ever reach, have had closed cockpits since the mid 1930’s. They look infinitely better than HALO and as I mentioned would be far more effective against every situation an F1 driver might face.

        So just because one so called solution has been tested does not make it the best solution. When all bar one team vote against HALO, maybe I’m not talking nonsense after all…

        1. Again, the windshield was tested and failed, it’s a better option in the long run, but it’s just not ready yet. Secondly, modern F1 cars are not WWII fighter planes.

    3. yes. the halo is classic ‘survivor’ thinking. like when all the bombers came back in ww2 and they would analyze them for bullet holes and what not, instead of analyzing the ones that were shot down.

  27. uhhh…. no….this isnt like tour de france where theres hundreds of riders nor is it nascar where theres 40 drivers going round and round…theres only 20-24 cars so its pretty plain to see and identify in conjunction with the race programme who is leading the the championship…..

    not to mention sunflower yellow in the middle of the silver arrow…..YUCK

  28. I think it is a good idea, make the McLaren halo bright red so you can see it is still moving…

    1. Well, it might provide a useful handle for the marshalls when wheeling the car off the track.

  29. Not sure if Todt is not the sharpest tool in the box or just deliberately disingenuous. Does it really show that people are “getting used to it”? Does this even equate to “less opposed to it,” as he implies? Or does it just mean people are resigned to the fact that no matter how many times the FIA is told that this is the worst idea since Abraham Lincoln said “I’m sick of kicking around the house all day, let’s go take in a show,” it won’t take a blind bit of notice?

    1. He’s a politician trying to furore his ‘safety agenda’. Truth isn’t relevant in that arena.

  30. “I don’t think anything justifies death….” except perhaps the bright gold Halo.

  31. Unless this is just sponsorship – and those are really the McDonald’s golden arches ?

    1. Stop giving away the 2018 new sponsor details….!

  32. Oh, I get it.

    It’s a way to make the championship more exiting.

    Make the championship leader halo diarrhea yellow. Nobody wants to be the leader, everyone sandbags, the championship remains undecided until the last race. And who knows, maybe a Sauber driver could end up being the champion.

    1. You have yellow diarrhea?! Please sir, call your doctor ;)

      1. tukangservishalo
        5th September 2017, 9:59

        it could be cotd

      2. @jeffreyj it’s a thing, trust me ;)

  33. I think it would be a much better idea to have the two halos from each team painted different colours like they have done with the roll hoop cameras. This would make it much easier to identify which driver is which rather than looking at the crash helmets, many of which are too messy to identify, or the roll hoop cameras and car/driver numbers, which are far too small from a distance to see properly.

    1. There are big numbers painted on the car and sometimes the driver’s initials. Do you need a guide dog to help you know which car is which? It has never been an issue before, why is it now?

  34. This is not the best idea ever proposed.

    F1 is already steeped in tradition. Why adopt a rather convoluted version of a tradition from another sport? This seems a weak attempt at a not so clever way to gain acceptance of FIA required safety equipment that some have objected to. Like offering candy to a kid for doing a required chore.

    Probably better if Todt had not come up with this idea at all. It will have the reverse effect he would have hoped for by making it look like he needs something to sell it to those who object. Sir, you are the FIA! This is required equipment for 2018. You don’t need to sell it. Put it in the rulebook and move on.

    1. @bullmello exactly, and I think the comments at the end show he fails to recognise this. The reason there has been so little negativity around the other series is because it’s in the rulebook and people are moving on, not because people are accepting of it, but because they have got no choice.

  35. No, please no. It’s already bad enough as it is. Just make it part of the standard car livery and say nothing else on the matter

  36. Is there someone clever on here with a massive twitter or Facebook following where we can start an anti halo revolution? Kieth? Somebody? Anybody?….😉

    1. Far too late for that and untenable for the FIA @canadianjosh . FIA would not have a legal leg to stand on if the halo was removed now. It’s here to stay until at least a viable alternative is found so we’d better get used to it.

      1. I’m not convinced it has a legal leg to stand on if it puts the Halo on the cars, given the video it tried showing as evidence of the device’s efficacy appeared to undermine the safety argument rather than bolster it.

    2. an anti halo revolution?

      I mean, you want an anti-halo revolution but you’re not doing/saying anything about full-face helmets, HANS, huge run-offs (even the gravel/grass ones – to be fair a lot of the recent ashpalt additions aren’t actually 4-wheel racing related IIRC), and the fact that F1 is too scared to race at tracks like Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Zandvoort, proper Spa, proper Oesterreichring, proper Monza, or proper Nuerburgring without Tilkeisation?

      Errr….kay.

  37. When I first heard the idea I thought it might be nice, but then I saw all the negative comments about it. As I see it, there isn’t anything in the rules to stop a driver from putting some symbol or colour onto their car right now to show they are the current WDC leader, but what is the point of doing so? Maybe there’d be some sort of ceremonial benefit, where the new leader is given the yellow singlet / arm band / whatever at the podium whenever it changes hands.
    There is already a rule that reserves the number “1” for the current World Drivers’ Champion, and “2” as their team mate. Being the World Drivers’ Champion is far more prestigious than being the leader in the current Championship, yet those numbers weren’t used last year. Sebastian Vettel was the last driver to use the number “1”. In the last few years Lewis Hamilton preferred the number 44 to the number 1. This is an unusual year because the current WDC isn’t racing, so we don’t know whether or not Nico Rosberg would have made use of “1”. The important thing is Hamilton at least preferred to not show he was the WDC, so one could surmise he might also not want to show he is the current WDC leader as well.
    Overall, I think this might be a nice, maybe put a note into the rules regarding a symbol or a splash of paint onto the side of the car for fans if the team considers it necessary, but I think there are far more important issues that F1 needs to address than this.

    1. No 2 is RIC

        1. Tommy Scragend
          5th September 2017, 7:19

          No. 2 is Stoffel Vandoorne.

          1. Yes, you are right! So I was mistaken on the fact that “2” was a reserved number, my thanks for correcting me.

      1. Think Vandoorne#2?

  38. Hilarious. What a stupid idea. The yellow jersey in cycling does help identify the leader in the GC, but there’s also the polka dot jersey and green jersey and white jersey. So does the pole position leader get a special colour too?? Does the driver with the most penalty points get a bright red halo as to warn the other drivers and views this is the most dangerous guy on the grid? Also I find it funny GRO isn’t concerned about safety when it comes to the halo as ‘its not F1’, but wants to moan and complain about how dangerous it is when the track is wet in qualifying.

    1. Also I find it funny GRO isn’t concerned about safety when it comes to the halo as ‘its not F1’, but wants to moan and complain about how dangerous it is when the track is wet in qualifying.

      Ha ha, nice catch!

  39. Here’s Jean Todt not understanding that this isn’t Motocross.

  40. There are so many better ways to show who is leading the championship. Making the halo more striking will only exxagerate its ugliness. Instead put some gold colored tape on the front suspension arms, paint the fia cameras in gold or put a golden stripe on the car somewhere. But not make the halo into something that is opposite of people want.

    The more invisible the halo can be made the better f1 looks. Halo is good for f1 because we don’t want drivers to die because of preventable causes but making the halo device center of attention is not going to go well. Horrible idea. I hoped the stupid ideas would go away with bernie…

  41. Nope, squinting didn’t help.

  42. The artist who did that should never ever work again yuck

    1. I think they should get a bonus payment; the whole world now gets to see how awful this is and hopefully it can be prevented from ever becoming more than an artist’s impression.

  43. Maybe they should attach the trophy to it as well to make it be more noticeable….

  44. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    5th September 2017, 5:30

    Mmm… Yes… They could.

  45. Formula One could use the Halo in the same way yellow jersey is in the Tour de France when it is introduced for the 2018 F1 season, FIA president Jean Todt has suggested.

    Ummmm interesting, maybe they could make the Halo change colour to reflect the drivers on track position. Or how about the drivers being able to message each other with it. For instance imagine the charming conversation that could be had between Ocon and Perez, and we could all see it. Certainly liven up some of the more mundane races.

    Stop throwing things I’m Joking.

  46. Given that the FIA’s best suggestion of how to improve Halo’s look is to paint it the same colour as the livery of the car its on, giving it its own random colour seems daft.

  47. So why shouldn’t Formula One try something a bit new but shared the remarkable human effort while cycling and they honor that effort with a yellow jersey. The comittment to be best there is no different in ways to what Vettle or Hamilton also seek.
    I have accepted halos as what F1 will become and this interesting idea of painting the halo yellow is genious. We fans will see the driver with the yellow halo as leader for drivers champion is but another facet of the new Formula One. Why not? We who watch will be able to have another reference point while watching passes, spinouts and the first 30 seconds of every race.
    I am color blind in life and would value the contrast. The point is to say to fans new to F1 are attracted to it because the way visual stuff impacts seeing the cars so fast but stop like crazy.
    Why not make believe having the yellow halo is worth talking about.
    My opinion is the idea of gold, silver and bronze halo would spice up the sport. Its history is ripe with finding ways to improve itself. Often they settle on rules which have lessened the driver challenge. Pretty evident the 2017 chassis is popular. An example of needing a change and really stepping it up!
    So why not yellow halos?

    1. Listen TEDBELL.
      In cycling, you have a peleton of a hundred cyclists and it’s hard to spot the current leader. A yellow jersey is a huge help. Even if the leader isn’t “burried” in the peleton, you might simply not know where he is or even tell who it is when you see him. Also, the leader might change from stage to stage.

      In Formula 1, there’s 20 cars and the WDC leader is either the guy in a Mercedes or the guy in a Ferrari. You won’t confuse their cars with anybody else’s other than their team mates’, which is the only distinction you’ll ever need.

      My opinion is the idea of gold, silver and bronze halo would spice up the sport.

      WUT? Formula 1 is so uncompetetive and stale that those colours would only visualize that.

      In the 13 races we’ve had this season, the gold/silver would’ve just been swaped for the first time between Vettel and Hamilton. The bronze would’ve changed its owner once – after the 3rd race (from Verstappen to Bottas) and remained on the same car for the next 10 races so far, and most probably until the very end.
      How is that “spicing things up”?

  48. Marian Gri (@)
    5th September 2017, 7:19

    No bright idea at all (what could be so smart about the idea of painting something?!), we (real fans) could do without it ’cause we know enough info to differentiate the drivers. But I do not think it’s something stupid as most guys say. Most people think they’re the center of the universe, most F1 fans must be thinking the same thing. So, yeah, this kind of change has no use at all to F1 fans, but it could be quite useful to occasional viewers to “understand” what’s going on as quickly as possible. There’re people who like motorsport in general or the motorsport related show, but not that much to follow even every race of a series (F1), following the Free Practices or Qualifying is out of question. It’s like saying automatic transmission is stupid simply because it’ll never have any of use for me. I like a sporty style of driving and I’ll always buy a car with a manual transmission. Adds nothing for me, doesn’t bother me. It’s just some paint. The Halo itself bothers me tho. Wish it’d never made it onto the car. Or at least not sooner than 2020.

  49. A brightly colored halo is a nice way to make the car up front recognizable. Without it, who would have known?

    It is one step too far yet. The HALO will come, even though it is ugly; safety before looks.
    But nobody really likes it. We are not ready yet for the “what can you do with it” phase.
    Todt tries to make us think past the sale, but we’re not sold yet.
    If we are to have HALOs, why not just wait and see what the teams do to it before we color it in?

    And please do not overregulate it; too much messing about gave us step and dildo noses a few years back.
    All for safety, of course; but with additional requirements on surface area and height.
    Form follows function so don’t force shape it into something even more ugly.

    1. Todt tries to make us think past the sale, but we’re not sold yet.

      Exactly. He’s a politician trying to further his agenda.

  50. I really support the halo. It’s ugly but it could save lives. It’s worth it for sure. But yellow jersey style halos? No. Please just include the halo in the car liveries instead, make it blend in more nicely.

    1. Setting a 100kph speed limit would save lives also. Do you support that?

      1. Does a 100kph speed limit destroy the racing? Yes.
        Does a halo destroy the racing? No.

        It messes with aestethics, but that’s always secondary. Let’s be frank, cars unable to follow each other closely should be a bigger warning sign than a piece of carbon fibre surrounding the drivers head.

        You know, back in the inception of F1, people cried for helmets with visors because you couldn’t see the drivers. Then people cried over those ugly wings at the front and back of the cars. Then people cried over seatbelts. Or the HANS. Why would the halo be different?

        It’s ugly, of course it is, but that has nothing to do with it. It’s not there to look good, it’s there to keep the Justin Wilsons or Maria de Villotas or Dan Wheldons alive.

        1. Or Henry Surtees, for that matter. Died racing in Formula 2, a series which will also include the halo for next season.

        2. OK so “the racing” is actually more important than saving lives. Something we can agree on. You obviously have a line you won’t cross somewhere between 100kph and the Halo. I wonder where that line is?

          Your examples are spurious – they didn’t change the fundamental nature of the sport. The Halo does. It ends the open cockpit formula. I guess society is too risk adverse and precious to accept this risk anymore. Or maybe that moron Todt is trying to create some kind of legacy. That’s OK I guess. But what is not OK is this ugly half measure. Have the backbone to accept open cockpit or accept that this is the end of the closed cockpit. The Halo is a weak half solution.

          Thanfully we still have bike racing. MotoGP is on next weekend. It’s too bad 46 is out.

          1. Open cockpit isn’t even the core of F1. We’ve had closed cockpits in the past, especially during the very dawn of F1. Open wheel, that’s the “true essence” of formula 1. Not to mention the halo doesn’t actually take away from an open cockpit. I’d say the side protection around the cockpit removes more of the openness than a halo does.

          2. Well not to worry, I’m sure open wheel is next on the FIAs hit list and I am confident you’ll be defending some kind of “wheel Halo” monstrosity when the time comes.

      2. Setting a 100kph speed limit would save lives also. Do you support that?

        either way we do have that in F1

  51. Great Idea. Make it so.

  52. “When I announced that we have the Halo for Formula E in the 2018-2019 season, there was no criticism,” said Todt. “Also with the introduction of the 2018 Formula Two car with Halo I have heard no negative comments. This shows that people get used to it.”

    No, it rather shows that nobody cares about Formula E & Formula 2.

    1. Lol , boy is Todt dumb, or just playing dumb.

      1. I think just possibly that Todt meant it as a joke @canadianjosh. He’s far from dumb having masterminded multiple world championships for Peugeot & Ferrari.

        1. obviously a terrific manager

  53. Can someone please explain to Jean Todt that a bicycle race has upwards of 150 cyclists that disappear into a sea of coloured Lycra, and that a cycling team has nine riders all dressed in identical race gear, making identification of an individual rider extremely difficult.

    Can someone also please explain to Jean that reliance on OEMs is a danger to the sport, that hybrid V6s and cars designed via CFD on super computers make for a lousy, boring spectacle, that his sport has become far too corporate, and the uncontrolled technology and money are killing the sport.

    Thank you.

  54. Lewisham Milton
    5th September 2017, 9:15

    F1 could use president to shut up and address F1’s real problems.

    I suppose they’ll add extra weight to the leader’s halo to make it more of a showbiz race. And if he’s still leading, they can bring out the Showbiz Car for 3 laps longer than necessary to close up the field.

  55. I really don’t care – if they want yellow, orange or rainbow, I couldn’t care more. What I care is that we spend time discussing such minute details. For me this is a non-existent problem. Let’s move on to something of importance, ladies and gentlement.

    1. I couldn’t care less, obviously ;)

    2. +1.

      There’re some other things that are problems, not this 1. For example, that F1 is not remotely close to the show from GP2 and GP3. The battles were really great, multiple ocassions where there were like 6 cars in just 1sec time space.

  56. Why would you want to visualise the championship leader in every single race?
    That information is shown on screen before and after each GP. And also during the races we often see a virtual ranking based on current race positions. And then there are the commentators who will probably talk about the championship ranking as well. I think that’s enough.

    If the idea would be to help/attract the more casual viewer, then would it not be more interesting to visualize the RACE leader instead of the championship leader?
    For example the system with the 3 LED dots on WEC cars. In the second half of the races, when cars have been/are being lapped, the casual viewer could appreciate such a system to help clarify what’s happening on track.

    (and I personally think that a couple well-placed LED lights on the F1 cars could positively increase the spectacle. Eg blue LEDs in the front wing that go on when you’re about to lap another car. So addition to the blue flags, but then clearly visible in the lapped car’s mirrors)

    1. I like this idea of adding a LEDs, just to make the Halo less boring. Maybe it is too much, but I would try a display like in Indycar, but in the front part of the Halo.

  57. Polka dot Jers….err halo for king of (say) Spa and the Green Halo for Fastest lap……….Naw…….

    1. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
      5th September 2017, 10:28

      Beat me to it. Looking forward to the polka dot halo for king of the midfield

      1. And then Force India gets fined because nobody can see the pink dots on the pink Halo structure…

  58. Maybe this idea was put forth by McLaren, who were thinking “damn, yet another part of the car that we don’t have any sponsors for, what else can we use it for?”

  59. petebaldwin (@)
    5th September 2017, 11:05

    Go home Jean! You’re drunk!

  60. doubling down on stupidity

  61. F1 took already something from cycling.
    Using a substance to increase performance (oil burning) could be considered as doping.

    1. oil burning

      though it did start with special fuel, not oil

      1. Oh and F1 beat cycling to it by decades AFAIK

  62. Wrap it with silver duct tape and foam..Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

  63. Terrible idea. But what about the lights on the bodywork like in WEC? When you are watching from the stands that would be a help sometimes, especially as it may be hard to see helmet colors from far away.

  64. To think this was only introduced because someone thought it was a good idea to operate Cranes and Trucks around F1 cars.

    1. Not really. It was introduced to protect against debris risk, which has been in the FIA’s mind for 8 years by this point.

  65. I honestly think some fans are either eager for something to complain about or so prejudiced because it’s a safety device which they associate with the sport being “sanitised” they lose objectivity.

    From an aesthetic position, how is it less aesthetic than a suspension arm? No it’s not a sweeping, flowing piece of aero that verges on being art, but it’s a functional bit of apparatus necessary to protect the driver just like the suspension arm is necessary to hold the wheel hub. The colouring also doesn’t make it look worse, but is a practical idea to appeal to casual or new fans.

    1. A suspension arm serves an engineering purpose and is the result of the engineering process. There is a beauty in that.

      The Halo serves nothing except FIA cowardice and idiocy. There is no beauty in that.

      1. It is intended to serve a purpose though. It will deflect large debris like wheels or an actual car mounting on top of another car like we have seen near misses several times over the last few years.

        Grosjean and Raikkonen have nearly taken Alonso’s head off in near misses a little too close for comfort. The halo removes that accident waiting to happen. It’s an engineered solution with a clear purpose.

        1. It’s a political solution dreamed up by people too afraid to either accept the risks of motorsports or just close the cockpit. The engineering is secondary at best.

          It does serve a clear purpose as I stated.

  66. And please add on the floor some coloured led or neon lights need-for-speed-ish so car will be far cooler, over the rollbar intake a lamp and loudspeaker like polish or firefighters.
    How possible not get those ideas earlier..

  67. Fluorescent pink is probably the right color to go with.

  68. what a silly idea

  69. Boy, I sure am glad I follow a sport whose governing body consistently introduces relevant solutions to real problems and I think this time they’ve outdone themselves.

    I mean, I’m just thinking back on all the times I’ve heard people say they’d love to get into the sport if only there was some way of knowing who the championship leader was. See kids, that’s the kind of outside the box thinking you need if you want to sign decrees for a living.

  70. I like it. It’s a great help for casual fans.

  71. Todt’s idea couldn’t be worse! Let the teams use the colors they want to use

  72. Make it transparent …

  73. Wow!! Let’s also introduce mountain GPs in the Alps. And time trials.

  74. Turd polishing at its finest.

  75. You’re everything I need and more
    It’s written all over your face
    Baby, I can feel your halo
    Pray it won’t fade away

    I can feel your halo (halo) halo
    I can see your halo (halo) halo
    I can feel your halo (halo) halo
    I can see your halo (halo) halo

  76. Im searching new categories to watch next year, they are murdering F1

  77. Didn’t open this article initially as I don’t care about the colour of the halo (not a fan of the halo, but have accepted it already).
    Then I saw 161 comments! And all of them negative to very negative.

    Why are people so concerned about the colour of that thing.
    Personally I couldn’t care less, even if it were the ugliest colour (brown?); I only care about the racing.
    And if this is going to attract casual fans – great. And if long term fans leave – then they probably weren’t real fans of the racing anyway.

    Off now to some more interesting topics.

  78. Perhaps Jean has yet to realise fans often like more than one series at a time and already objected on the first time it was proposed? I have seen no evidence that Halo is safer on Formula E or F2 than in F1, therefore my objections have not been satisfied. The only reason I didn’t speak out was that it was plainly pointless because the video the FIA released alongside Halo showed that it was less safe than doing nothing, but they were proceeding anyway. I for one am not even close to used to it – I just know that it’ll only be in the next disaster that the problems with Halo will get proper consideration.

    I do not see casual fans being even slightly attracted by Halo – generally, they’re not aware of it and won’t be until it races on an actual car.

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