Magnussen: Five seconds is too long if the car is on fire

In the aftermath of the scary fire that engulfed the Renault of Kevin Magnussen during free practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix, the halo cockpit safety device is again in the spotlight with many questioning if a driver can alight the cockpit fast enough in such a situation.

Magnuseen himself has doubts and told Bild, "I have not tested the Halo, so I can not judge it. In my opinion five seconds extra would be too long, if the car is on fire."

"My crew were great dealing with the fire and getting the car back into action for the afternoon. From my perspective, I heard the call on the radio to jump out and I didn’t need to be told twice!" added the Dane.

But Grand Prix Drivers' Association chief Alexander Wurz insists that the halo would not have delayed the driver getting out the car.

He told Sky, "Maybe it will be half a second longer to get out, with the fire (proof) suit which lasts 50 seconds with a real fire."

When the FIA announced that the halo device would not be implemented until 2018, Red Bull team chief Christian Horner told Sky, "The feeling with the halo is that there are some benefits but an awful lot of unanswered questions."

"We can't just bolt on something which we all have very little experience of," added Horner.