Ricciardo expects fans to "get over" the Halo quite soon
- Published on 07 Dec 2017 17:47
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Daniel Ricciardo doesn't believe that the Halo will change Formula 1, claiming that the fans just need to get used to its looks. The controversial head protection device will come into force next year, to the outrage of many fans.
While the Halo is set in place to improve safety, many feel that the car's aesthetics will take a heavy blow. However, Ricciardo has urged fans to remember that while the cars may not look as pleasing, the racing will remain the same.
"I think people will get over Halo quite soon," the Red Bull driver told RACER this week. "It's only the look [fans] will need to adjust to, but the racing shouldn't change one bit. When the cars changed between 2008 and 2009 they also didn't look very good. But people got used to it, and then it became normal to have the tall and narrow rear wings. Even though it was a very strange Formula 1 car."
The FIA gave a presentation to F1 teams on how they came to the conclusion that the Halo was the best device for improving. It concluded that the deaths of Justin Wilson and Henry Surtees would have been prevented had the Halo been in place.
Ricciardo says that s afety had to be the priority: "I think there's been very mixed feelings between drivers and within the media and among fans," he said. "It doesn't look as nice as how the cars look now,
"It's more to save the freak accidents. If any part of the car flies off it can stop a fatality. People forget, and it's easy when there hasn't been one for a couple of years. People say it's all fine and safe, but every time something happens it highlights the dangers.
"It won't change the adrenaline of the sport, the excitement," he added. "All it's really doing is protecting us from a freak accident. The racing will still be the same. The risks we take are still the same. So I don't see any real big change."
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (7)
Login to replyRindtchamp
Posts: 304
DR is a great driver and a top bloke but he's talking out of his rear end here.
The Halo is ghastly and many will turn off, I personally know 7 people who've been watching F1 for 30-40+ years and have said they will no longer watch if the Halo is on the cars come Australia.
f1ski
Posts: 726
If the racing is good race fans will watch.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
People will definitely get over the halo, but only if (big if) the racing is better (which has nothing to do with the halo). Those who say they will stop watching if the halo is implemented are the type of hardcore petrol-heads that made the sport great in the 90's and early 2000's, but also who are perpetually and annoyingly talking about how everything should go back to the way it was. I HATE the halo with a passion. But it will definitely not keep me from watching Formula 1. Crappy predictable boring racing would make me skip races, or watch only part of them.
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
I just fail to see why it needs to be so ugly? It looks like a one-size fits all bolt-on kit from eBay.
If it can be better integrated with the design of the car, I don't see it being a big deal. That being said, I hope they'll find a more aesthetically pleasing solution soon.
xoya
Posts: 583
Don't understand people who say they will stop watching if something cosmetic changes. :/ That's like quitting watching F1 over 2014 spec "noses".
I watch F1 because I love the speed and talking about races and cool tech with my friends. Even an ugly "halo" makes for some good banter. :)
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Fully agree with you. And I mean, those "noses" are still present to a certain agree, and as one of the semi-haters of them, I would've had a hard time watching for several years to come. Sure, the halo wont look good, but Im pretty sure it wont harm to racing.
Barron
Posts: 625
It’s hysterical when people on the net say dramatically, “that’s it, I’m done watching F1 because of the halo”. It’s not ideal and it will change ‘for sure’, but this attitude is not from real fans. These are the same people who say “proper F1 cars should make your ears bleed”. Well I have become partially deaf through working with racing cars and large sound systems and I’ll tell you, it’s no joke. The halo is a piece of metal attached to an F1 car, not the arrival of Satan in mortal form just get over it. Do I like it? Not particularly; do I hate it?; not particularly; will it work; who knows? Do I care? No. Will I continue to be a fan of F1. Yes.