Formula 2 Will Add the Halo to Cars in 2018
Formula 2 will get a new spec car next year, and it will include the Halo.
The FIA has decided that Formula 2's new 2018 car will include the Halo cockpit protection device. Formula 2 is set to unveil the 2018 car at Monza this coming weekend. The new car, the Dallara F2/18, will replace the six-year-old Dallara GP2/11. The Dallara F2/18 will also get a new engine from Mecachrome. The current engine is a naturally aspirated V8 that is good for 612 HP. The series has used the V8 since its inception as GP2 in 2005. The new engine will be a more powerful turbo V6 that puts out 620 HP.
Being that Formula 2 is a spec series and will be using the Dallara F2/18 for several years, the FIA felt that the time to integrate the Halo was now. Not adding the Halo to the Dallara F2/11 would mean waiting until the next generation of Formula 2 car, which could be anywhere from three to six years down the raod. The FIA was not willing to wait this long to implement it in the F1 feeder series.
Formula 2 race director Laurent Mekies told Racer "The Halo is not something you can adapt on a current car, and as a result if you miss the slot on a new car then it is game over, or nearly so. For obvious reasons such as cost, the single-seaters that are not F1 are changed between every three or every six years, so you might miss a six-year window in an extreme situation."
Mekies also said that president Jean Todt pushed them to get the Halo on the new car as the young F2 drivers are just as important to protect as the F1 stars. "He felt there was nothing that should push us to protect the big guys [in F1] more than the other guys" said Mekies.
The version of the Halo that will be on the Dallara F2/18 this weekend is not the final version. Homologation is still underway and the FIA is still deciding on its list of approved manufacturers. The Dallara F2/18 is expected to break cover on Thursday before the racing kick off at Monza for the weekend.
