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Raikkonen debuts ‘halo’ cockpit protection proposal at winter test

“You can see the laptime, there are different tyres and different times”.

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Ferrari have trialled the new halo device, created to give extra head protection for the F1 drivers, in winter testing at Barcelona.

Driver Kimi Raikkonen completed two laps of the Circuit de Catalunya track with the device, created to protect drivers from flying debris, fitted to his vehicle.

But the FIA has also left the door open to other potential solutions, despite declaring the “halo” as the “preferred option” because it has been the most developed.

Massa was hit by a suspension spring at the Hungarian Grand Prix back in 2009 and after his condition was initially described as life threatening, made a speedy recovery and returned to the grid for the 2010 season.

Here’s a clip of the Halo head protection concept in action.

Despite that, one would have to assume that Vettel – who is slowly entering into the kind of time many would call the peak of a driver’s career – will have the edge over the veteran Finn.

F1 race director Charlie Whiting told teams earlier this year that the FIA was making sure the Halo was in place for next season.

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Raikkonen took took a single lap in the auto and found the visibility to be “okay”, according to ESPN, and that is definitely a lot better than what Kimi would have said if it were in any way Not Okay. Furthermore, he said, “Whether one day that is Ferrari, I don’t know”. “It’s a different story when we go racing”. We think the final structure would be part of the vehicle and hopefully will look better. “I am not unhappy with how it is at the moment”.

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