The Halo has been a point of discussion all through the off season mainly because it brought the aesthetic value of the car down significantly but fans had to be content as it provided extra safety to the drivers.
And while the safety issues thankfully haven’t been tested yet, as no driver met with any big accident during the 1st week of testing, the Halo does look hideous on these otherwise immaculate looking F1 cars.
With the Halo right in the line of sight of the drivers, there was a slight possibility of it hampering the driver’s vision, and that is exactly what Magnussen has pointed out.
“It’s very annoying. Ugly. Difficult to get into the car, difficult to get out of the car, difficult to get the steering wheel on and off, just awkward and annoying,” he said.
The start lights aren’t much of an issue for Magnussen but he feels that the halo is a huge issue on corners.
“Once you get into the corner it’s fine because you look to the sides and left and right of the pillar in the middle so it’s not a problem visually to see the corner,” Magnussen said.
“But it distracts your eye obviously when you change direction like chicanes and you have to move your vision across the pillar.
“It’s a little bit distracting but it isn’t any concern as such.” he added.
Corners such as Eau Rouge could cause huge concerns for drivers, especially when they are racing wheel to wheel.
“If you’re chasing someone in Eau Rouge you won’t be able to see if he makes a mistake at the top and spins if you’re down the middle part,” he said.
“You won’t know if he’s in the wall or not.I guess the same at Austin Turn 1 where there’s big elevation, but we’ll see.” he added.
Magnussen feels that an F1 car should be an open one and shouldn’t have either a windscreen or a halo.
“It looks a lot nicer but I’m not even really a fan of that,” he said. “It’s better than our halo but I just don’t think there should be anything.
“In my opinion, Formula 1 is an open car and shouldn’t be closed. I think it’s wrong for Formula 1.” he concluded.
