Formula 1: Toto Wolff says halo ‘worth it’ even after chainsaw remark

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport executive director Toto Wolff has stated that he believes Formula 1’s new halo is worth it even after he made his chainsaw remark about it before the 2018 season began.

The 2018 Formula 1 season is the first season during which the use of the new halo device, which is used for added driver head protection above the cockpit, has been mandated. Before the season began, the halo faced a ton of criticism, particularly for the way it looked.

In addition to the criticism from the fans, a lot of this criticism came from the people within the sport. In fact, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport executive director Toto Wolff made a very bold claim about what he would do to the halo if he could.

Here is what Wolff had to say about the matter back in February, according to ESPN.

"“I’m not impressed with the whole thing and if you give me a chainsaw I would take it off. I think we need to look after the driver’s safety but what we have implemented is aesthetically not appealing. We need to come up with a solution that simply looks better.“It’s a massive weight on the top of the car, you screw up the centre of gravity massively. As much as it’s impressive to look at the statistic that you could put a bus on top, this is a Formula 1 car.“The FIA has thoroughly conducted all kinds of tests and possible scenarios and overall, the Halo makes it much more safer for the driver. Whether there are scenarios where a driver is trapped, probably these scenarios do exist, but overall it is safer with the halo than without the Halo.”"

However, after the Belgian Grand Prix, which featured a frightening crash right after the start of the race when the car driven by McLaren’s Fernando Alonso was hit by the car driven by Renault Sport’s Nico Hulkenberg and then sent into the air on top of the car and the halo of the car driven by Alfa Romeo Sauber rookie Charles Leclerc, Wolff has stated that he believes the halo is worth it.

Here is a video of this crash.

Here is what the 46-year-old Austrian had to say about the halo, according to Independent.

"“As you know, I am not a fan of it because I think the aesthetics are terrible. But having saved Charles from harm and injury it makes it all worth it. It could have been very nasty.”"

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The halo that was on Leclerc’s car during this accident was left very scraped up once the accident was over, and that led many people, including fans, drivers and team personnel alike to praise it for, at the very least, protecting the 20-year-old Monegasque from suffering serious head injuries.

In fact, many people praised the halo for saving the life of the 2016 GP3 Series and 2017 Formula 2 champion.

While the halo may not be aesthetically pleasing and while thousands of people are not afraid to publicize that this is the way they feel about it, every the most vocal critics of the device have turned into supporters of it for one reason.

That reason is the reason why its use in Formula 1 was mandated before the 2018 season began: its function.

Do you agree with Toto Wolff that the halo is worth it even if it is not the most aesthetically pleasing device in Formula 1?