Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsSafety

Ferrari debuts Halo cockpit protection in testing

The Halo concept for cockpit protection appeared on an F1 car for the first time in public during pre-seaosn testing on Thursday.

Kimi Raikkonen completed his installation lap in the SF16-H with the Halo concept installed in order to test visibility for the drivers. The design features a central pillar in front of the driver's head, supporting further protection which is designed to deflect large debris.

Ferrari only ran the device - which was fixed to the top of the chassis rather completely incorporated as a final version would be - during its installation lap, with a team spokesman confirming it would not run again this week.

The FIA is hoping to implement a cockpit protection solution from 2017 onwards, with the Halo concept having emerged as its preferred option in recent months. A meeting of the F1 Commission last week allowed a delay on a final decision regarding the cockpit protection until the end of April.

While the Grand Prix Drivers' Association [GPDA] recently lobbied for the swift introduction of cockpit protection, not every driver is a fan of the proposal, with Nico Hulkenberg last week saying: "It’s just a personal thing.

"I don’t like it. For me, it (the F1 cockpit) should be open."

Follow live coverage and timing from pre-season testing here

GALLERY: Pre-season testing

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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.