29/07/2016
NEWS STORY
Grand Prix Drivers' Association chairman Alex Wurz admits he is surprised by the U-turn on the Halo device.
Speaking in Germany to Sky Sports F1, in the wake of yesterday's decision to delay the introduction of the controversial device until 2018, the Austrian could not hide his disappointment.
"We can debate the aesthetics," he admitted, in response to the view held by many, including Bernie Ecclestone, a leading opponent of the device. "I don't think it is very aesthetic.
"I don't question the work of the experts of teams, and let's not forget it was developed by teams and the FIA experts themselves," he continued. "They started the development of this in 2010, so it has not just happened overnight.
"They presented this, the halo solution, as a workable solution for head protection. And in their opinion it is a better option than anything we have at the moment, and this is how it was presented to the drivers just a week ago.
"So I'm surprised by this U-turn, to go away from what experts recommend, when it is already in the design process of the new regulations, and now step away and delay by one year. I'm surprised by that."
When it is suggested that in the eyes of some, the Halo is another step towards the complete emasculation of the sport, and it is the danger that draws many fans, the Austrian says: "We have falling numbers of fans, that's the work of the promoter, and the owner of the sport himself. That's not the fault of halo or safety. In actual fact, if you're coming from the 60s, where every seventh Grand Prix an F1 driver died, to the most popular year of formula One, 2009, there is one clear graph; popularity goes up and the sport is stronger. The racing was close, more competitive.
"But there is another graph, which is the opposite trend which is injuries and fatalities. It went down, so I see no correlation that says we need to have dangerous racing where drivers are endangered for the sake of popularity.
"The guys want to see emotions, heroes, people spinning, making mistakes, they can crash yes, it's part of the emotion. But if the safety experts say 'we can save a life' I think it takes nothing away in terms of courage.
"If you go through Eau Rouge at 320 (km/h), you don't think 'I have this halo thing above me and therefore I do it flat', because the impact hurts anyway."
Check out our Friday gallery from Hockenheim, here.