Hamilton: Why is the Halo not being used from next year?

When the Halo F1 cockpit safety concept broke cover at the beginning of this season, Lewis Hamilton was one of the first to declare that he would not be using it, however half a year down the road the triple world champion is questioning why the implementation of the system is being delayed until 2018.

Hamilton said, "I don't really know why it's not going to be there next year and that was a point that I made. I basically had asked that if we are unfortunate enough to have an incident in the next year and a half and we knew we had a solution for it - that would have played a role in it - at the end of next year we are really going to be kicking ourselves."

Hamilton warmed to the system after a thorough briefing of the Halo to drivers, by the FIA, before the summer break. The likes of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg have always been staunch supporters of the Halo.

"They've got a solution which does help and I think the great thing," acknowledged Hamilton. "The FIA have done a fantastic job in the last 20-odd years in always making increments and steps and while it doesn't look great, we know that, but that 17 percent we can't ignore."

"I just hope in that space of time when we know that we do have it and the teams can afford to put it on the cars, between now and next season, I hope in that period of time no one gets injured, including myself," added the Mercedes driver who leads the 2016 F1 world championship standings.

Hamilton has changed his tune since F1 testing in March when he insisted, “If it is going to come in I hope we have an option to use it or not because I will not be using it on my car.”

“I hope that’s not what they’re bringing, I really do. Ultimately it’s the driver’s protection so we should have a choice individually. I like it the way it is now and when I get in the car I know there is a certain risk.”

“Safety is a very, very important issue for sure, but there are risks that we take and you have to decide how much of a risk you are going to take. For me I would rather drive without it and risk it,” declared the world champion at the time.