The halo has recently come under criticism for being ugly, heavy and not in keeping with the traditions and values of Formula 1, but -- as if that wasn't enough! -- it also stops fans from getting a clear view of each driver’s calling card -- their helmet. During the drivers' press conference in Melbourne on Thursday ahead of Sunday's F1 Australian Grand Prix, ideas were discussed on how to solve the issue.
Think of the greats like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Mario Andretti. Now go and grab a scrap of paper and draw their helmet design. Those with a nerd level of factor 100 (like me) will have no problem at all but, even if you account for the widely complicated designs of modern-day helmets, how will the next generation of fans be able connect in the same way with their heroes or even just simply identify them on-track?
Last season driver names and numbers were introduced to the side of the cars to aid trackside fans in identifying each driver as they whizzed past -- a real step forward -- and Sebastian Vettel came out with a potential solution to the problem.
Hamilton helmet - p1
Lewis Hamilton says that the new halo device has him considering a simpler helmet design -- or even no design at all.
“We should be allowed to design the halo,” said Vettel. “Obviously we can’t negotiate the position of the halo. We can’t put it at the back of the car. I don’t know. Maybe it should be up to us to design the halo, that would be an idea, just to add an element of it makes it different from the rest.”
Vettel was famous during his time at Red Bull for his ever-changing helmet design -- a trend that resulted in a rule change permitting drivers to just one major design change each season.
Defending champ Lewis Hamilton, after taking a moment to contemplate the issue, said, “I don’t have a suggestion for it but I have noticed that it’s almost pointless us painting our helmets nowadays. So I’m probably going to get rid of the paint from mine. It saves weight. But yeah, I don’t really have a suggestion for it. I’m sure they’ll come up with something.”
Currently, teams put a fluorescent strip on the camera of one driver's car to make identification easier for television cameras. Daniel Ricciardo suggested that something similar could work on the halo itself.
“The only thing I could think of was putting something on the halo to distinguish teammates,” said Ricciardo. “I think we ... is it the camera or the rollhoop or whatever that sometimes one driver has yellow so you can kind of tell a little bit there, so maybe do something between teammates with the halos just to give fans a little bit of an idea who’s behind the wheel because yeah, you don’t really see the helmet now? We are pretty hidden. Yeah, that’s all I can think of for now, short term.”
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