Jolyon Palmer has hit out at the FIA's decision to bring the Halo into Formula 1 for 2017, stating that you can't "put a bubble" around the drivers. F1's governing body took the decision prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix to introduce the Halo for 2018, a settlement which has seen a backlash from some drivers and many fans.
Palmer has been a strong critic of head protection since it first cropped up in meetings despite the FIA releasing a presentation showing how the Halo works and the tests that were carried out on the device.The presentation showed a positive effect in serious incidents where a driver's head was exposed or in danger.
One test that was carried out was how the Halo would have fared in Henry Surtees fatal 2009 accident when the 18-year-old was killed in a Formula 2 race. The test showed that the device had a positive effect in that particular incident, but Palmer, who was taking part in that very same race, will not let the outcome of the test defer his opinion.
"I was literally the car ahead of Henry, and saw the wheel that hit him in my live view," Palmer said. "At the time, I didn’t even imagine that could happen to be honest. I was a young, naive, racing driver. When that happened then of course it surprises you that there is actually some danger in motorsport, but I’ve carried on racing in my career for eight years and not had a worry at all about that, and that incident couldn’t have happened closer to me.
"I am not naive or disrespectful to that. I just think the whole essence of single seater racing is open top and I think Henry’s incident, we were racing on Brands GP, there were very fast corners, very little runoff, we were doing high speeds. The wheel tethers, they were already up to FIA spec at the time and they got improved after that, in Formula One we have even stronger wheel tethers.
"I think the problems from F2 back then and in IndyCar with Justin [Wilson’s] incident, they’re not problems we experienced in modern Formula 1 circuits where you’ve got huge runoffs at Copse or something. I am not ignoring the risk because I have raced every time knowing there’s a bit of risk. But you cannot put a bubble around the drivers. There’s always going to be some problems."
Fergal Walsh
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
Well, Palmer, look at the bright side - It's not a problem you'll have to deal with next year.