Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFerrari

Lives more important than Halo looks - Vettel

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Sebastian Vettel says saving lives is more important than any concerns regarding the look of an F1 car after testing the Halo device.

Following on from Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, Vettel completed his installation lap with the Halo cockpit protection attached to his car. With visibility a concern due to a central supporting pillar, Vettel says he had no major concerns with how the Halo impacted on his view.

“I think first of all to go round is OK, you can see what you need to see," Vettel said. "I think we can improve the system in terms of aesthetics, and also in terms of how much visibly is in your way. I tested it I the simulator and I think we will see evolutions of it very soon.”

And while Vettel admits he is not a fan of the Halo's aesthetics, the German says there is nothing more important than preventing fatalities.

“In principal, I agree it doesn’t look very nice. It’s not the picture you are used to for Formula One for a long time. But equally if it helps increase the safety and helps saving lives … There would be at least two drivers in the last four years that I remember would still be around, Henry Surtees and Justin Wilson, if we had this type of system.

"I think it can be as ugly as possible - nothing justifies not having these guys around anymore."

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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.