Alex Wurz, former F1 driver and Le Mans winner, now chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), is confident the so-called 'halo' device will be introduced as early as next year in a bid to improve driver safety.

The move follows a number of high profile incidents, not only in F1, in which drivers have been seriously injured, in some cases, killed, after suffering head injuries when hit by debris following an incident.

Whilst one immediately thinks of Jules Bianchi, Justin Wilson and Henry Surtees, the incident at Imola which claimed Ayrton Senna's life in 1994 is also being cited, the Brazilian killed when a suspension arm pierced his helmet.

Following a recent push by the GPDA, the FIA has now written to all F1 the teams advising that it wants to introduce the 'halo' device.

"Obviously the drivers are happy that the technical team representatives agreed for the additional head protection to come in for 2017 following the drivers' recommendation and the FIA research," he told BBC Sport. "We will now enter the design phase, where the drivers need to be open to a slightly different visibility spectrum due to the additional structure. I am also curious as to how the teams will make the new solution look cool and fast."

Whilst purists will argue that the proposed device appears to be a step towards fully enclosed cockpits, the fact is nobody wants to see another fatality should the 'halo' be the answer.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Marshall, 09/02/2016 16:58

"I'm sure the moderator at Crash, Richard Gilgen, would love to see Vettel with one of these halos' around his head chasing the Mercedesses. Me, I don't think it is necessary to put a guard rail around the cockpit. Racing can be dangerous and it is impossible to make it completely safe."

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2. Posted by mike, 06/02/2016 18:52

"WTF"

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3. Posted by ryanhellyer, 05/02/2016 9:43

"I'm not sure this would have helped much with incidents like Senna, Massa etc. had, as the car components would have fitted through the gap anyway. It would be useful for stopping larger items from penetrating the cabin though.

Perhaps this can be a stopgap solution, until a proper enclosed canopy can be designed, which would stop all the smaller items as well."

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4. Posted by Simon in Adelaide, 05/02/2016 2:35

"We all know motorsport is dangerous, it says so on the back of the ticket but if the FIA are so concerned then open cockpit racing should be banned outright rather than the monstrosity that is shown in the photograph/mock-up.

Other points to consider are:
How does the driver get into the car and more importantly get out in a hurry?
How will it affect the aerodynamics over the rear wing? and,
How long before it becomes an aerodynamic surface sprouting flip-ups, vanes and other devices?

Sorry, but somebody needs to get a grip otherwise F1 will, or possibly has already, become a farce. "

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5. Posted by Crash, 04/02/2016 18:40 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 04/02/2016 19:09)

"This comment was removed by an administrator as it was judged to have broken the site's posting rules and etiquette."

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'Halo' device likely to be introduced

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