Ferrari pushes on with Halo testing

The Italian outfit became the first team to run the safety device in public, after allowing Kimi Raikkonen to complete an installation lap at Barcelona in Spain on Thursday.

That running prompted outspoken remarks from a number of drivers who, while acknowledging its safety benefits, did not like the looks.

The most extreme view came from world champion Lewis Hamilton, who labelled it the 'worst-looking' car modification there had ever been in F1.

“Please no!” he wrote on Instagram. “This is the worst looking mod in Formula 1 history. I appreciate the quest for safety but this is Formula 1, and the way it is now is perfectly fine.”

Although Ferrari had originally suggested it would not run its early prototype version again, Sebastian Vettel emerged from the pits on the final morning of running with a Halo fitted.

At this stage, Ferrari wants to evaluate potential visibility issues caused by the central pillar, because the overall construction and material needs to be fine-tuned yet before a planned introduction in 2017.

As Motorsport.com revealed on Thursday, Red Bull is planning to test next month a Batmobile-style version of Halo cockpit protection that features a clear screen and support pillars either side of the cockpit.