Concerned about safety, not beauty of F1 halo: Wurz

Alexander Wurz, the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), admits in its current form the safeguard may not be the most pleasing on the eye, but insists the welfare of drivers is the priority.

Kimi Raikkonen testing Ferrari's 'halo' cockpit protection in F1 pre-season testing.

Alexander Wurz, the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), is more concerned with the functionality of future cockpit protection in Formula One, rather than the aesthetics.

Ferrari trialled the 'halo' head protection design ahead of the 2016 season to mixed reactions, with a mandatory introduction of such cockpit safety devices touted for 2017.

Wurz admits in its current form the safeguard may not be the most pleasing on the eye, but insists the welfare of drivers is the priority.  

"Ask me, 'Is the halo beautiful?' No. Ask me, 'Is the function the correct one to implement?' Yes, and most of the drivers say the same, at least when they voted for it, that something has to happen in this direction, it was a 100 per cent vote," he told Autosport.

"And again, I'm speaking about the function, not its beauty. It's debatable as to what is beautiful and what isn't.

"With the halo, or any head protection, if you are the unlucky one and an object is coming at you out of the sky, then we just want that person to have a high chance of survival.

"It will not take away any courage or skill. It's about function first. It's very implementable, and now we have the function the designers will make it look more beautiful or come up with a different-looking design."