Wolff would take chainsaw to haloposted in F122 | 02 | 2018

    MERCEDES HAS REVEALED its 2018 W09 race car for the new Formula 1 season, and team boss Toto Wolff has admitted he’d like to take a chainsaw to the halo cockpit protection device. (Related: Hamilton — "A horrible way to win the title")

    As both drivers, four-time world champ Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas, got their first taste of the new car at Silverstone today, Wolff made his views clear on the new controversial halo.

    "I'm not impressed with the whole thing," the Mercedes team principal said. "If you give me a chainsaw, I would take it off.

    Mercedes-F1-Launch-2018-1a.jpg

    “Of course we need to look after the drivers' safety, but what we have implemented is aesthetically not appealing. We need to tackle that and come up with a solution that looks better.

    "It's a massive weight on top of the car; you screw up the centre of gravity massively with that thing. As much as it's impressive to look at the statistics that you could put a bus on top, this is a Formula 1 car."

    Mercedes technical director James Allison stated recently that the halo needs be strong enough to withstand the weight of a London double decker bus.

    Mercedes-F1-Launch-2018-2.jpg

    But despite criticising the looks of the halo, Wolff admitted the device's introduction means the drivers would be safer.

    "The FIA has thoroughly conducted all kinds of tests and possible scenarios and overall, the halo makes it much more safer for the driver," he said.

    "Whether there are scenarios where a driver is trapped, probably these scenarios do exist, but overall it is safer with the halo than without the halo."

    Related: Bottas fends of Hamilton to win F1 finale

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    Jim McGill

     

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