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Fans give overwhelming verdict on 'halo' introduction

F1i readers have given their verdict about the FIA's decision to mandate the introduction of the controversial 'halo' cockpit protection system in 2018.

And it's pretty unequivocal. A massive 88 per cent of fans said that they were opposed to it, saying that the device simply doesn't belong in Formula 1.

Compared to that, only seven per cent of fans who voted said that they were in favour of it.

The remaining five per cent said that they didn't mind all that much one way or another.

Reaction in the Formula 1 paddock has been more evenly split. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the FIA 'had no choice' about adopting the device next season.

But his colleague, Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda, took the opposite line. He said that the "halo is just wrong."

He added: "The aesthetics are fatal, the halo destroys the DNA of a Formula 1 car.

Judging from F1i's exclusive poll, it seems Lauda has the backing of fans on this one.

And it's not just our poll. Other Formula 1 sites have been asking their readers to give their opinion as well. And the reaction seems to be pretty universal.

Pitpass.com's poll concluded that 69 per cent of respondents felt that the introduction of the halo device was a bad move. That left just under 31 per cent in favour.

F1-Fansite.com's poll closely mirrored our own. 86 per cent were against and eight per cent in support of the halo. Six per cent said they didn't care or had no preference.

Sky Sports F1 presenter Martin Brundle has dubbed the halo "plain ugly." Red Bull motorsport consultant Dr Helmut Marko has suggested there might be safety issue with the halo.

"Technically, it is also not mature," he told the Bild newspaper. "If an injured driver has to be rescued or a car is on fire, there are still no clear guidelines as to whether the cockpit becomes even more dangerous."

With so many strong feelings among fans and Formula 1 teams, it suggests that the matter might not be completely settled.

While the FIA is adamant that the new rules will come into force at the start of next season, there could yet be a U-turn. It wouldn't be the first time that the governing body has been forced into a rethink by strength of feeling!

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.