Raikkonen 'happy' with Halo on Ferrari's new SF71H

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Kimi Raikkonen insists that he is happy with the way that the Halo driver protection device had been incorporated into Ferrari's 2018 car.

The Finn was talking at Ferrari's media presentation of the new SF71H, which features a Halo coloured in Ferrari red to better blend in.

"The Halo, it looks so different," acknowledged Raikkonen. "But to be honest we tried it last year a few times and it wasn't a big difference really.

"You get used to it and you don't really notice it."

Last year's tests bolted the Halo onto the existing 2017-specification race car. But this year's new chassis has been created with all the necessary attachments and support points in mind from the start.

"With this car it's designed into it so it should be a lot better," said Raikkonen, who is entering his eighth season at Ferrari.

"It should be less visible even when you're driving," he added. "It looks a bit different but then with all the different rule changes over the year cars do look different. But then we get used to it very quickly."

"It's what it is, and it's a safety thing," he pointed out. "So I think we're happy to take it."

Longer, narrower SFH71 is 'evolution' of 2017 Ferrari - Binotto

Overall Raikkonen said he was positive about what the new car would be able to do in 2018. However, he's not yet had a proper chance to get behind the wheel except for a brief seat fitting.

"So much work has gone in, hours of planning and all the other things, until the last hours last night," he said. "I only saw it first time myself in one piece.

"It goes very late and it's a relief when it's ready. Especially now we get to drive it soon.

"Then we really see what it is and what it can do," he said. "It's an exciting time for the team.

"It looks nice. And usually when it looks nice, there's speed also. But obviously we will see that next week and upcoming test and the first race."

The first of two four-day pre-season tests at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya starts on Monday February 26. There will be full coverage of all the news from Spain here on F1i.

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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.