Talk of cockpit protection has died down a bit since Ferrari ran the halo during pre-season testing in Barcelona. The debate though may well reignite as it’s been revealed that Red Bull might test their alternative cockpit protection concept during the Russian Grand Prix next weekend.
Christian Horner revealed that the FIA will begin impact testing the canopy this week and if all goes to plan, they might bolt it on one of their cars in Sochi for a bit of real-world testing.
“We’re going to test the canopy solution over the next week – static testing, so we’re going to fire a wheel at in on a plinth to see how that withstands it,” said the Red Bull Racing team boss. “Then if that goes okay, we may put it on one car very briefly in Sochi. We will see how the testing goes over the next week or so.
“I think the canopy offers a bit more protection because it does have a windscreen. We believe there’s better visibility and it’s a more elegant solution to the brief, rather than the boomerang thing that is the halo.”
The halo didn’t go down particularly well with F1 fans, as well as some of the drivers, with Lewis Hamilton calling it “the worst looking mod in Formula 1 history.”
However if reports are to be believed then some kind of cockpit protection will feature on the cars in 2017, be it the halo or this windscreen canopy from Red Bull.