---
title: "Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Exec Would ‘Take a Chainsaw’ to a Halo Safety Device"
description: "The Mercedes-AMG F1 boss says the Halo is aesthetically unpleasing and alters the center of gravity."
date: "2018-02-26"
modified: "2018-02-26"
authors:
  - name: "Jerry Perez"
    job_title: "Deputy Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18782/mercedes-benz-motorsport-exec-would-take-a-chainsaw-to-a-halo-safety-device"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Fernando Alonso"
  - "Formula 1"
  - "Halo"
  - "Lewis Hamilton"
  - "Mercedes-AMG"
  - "Mercedes-Benz"
  - "racing"
  - "Toto Wolff"
---

# Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Exec Would ‘Take a Chainsaw’ to a Halo Safety Device

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/02/m147638.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Formula 1's newest driver safety device, the [Halo](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/14539/fia-formally-finalizes-f1s-halo-as-mandatory-for-2018>), has ridden a wave of commotion from the moment it was approved by the FIA, until the recent car unveilings ahead of the first pre-season test in Barcelona, Spain. The latest comment surrounding the Halo came courtesy [Toto Wolff](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18190/mercedes-toto-wolff-opens-up-about-lewis-hamilton-and-the-2018-f1-season>), Executive Director and Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, who didn't wait until the first race in Australia to share his lack of enthusiasm for the new device.

Wolff made the harsh comment in the company of the entire racing team, including drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, while at the Mercedes-AMG W09's world debut in Silverstone, according to [*Autosport*](<https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/134489/wolff-would-take-a-chainsaw-to-halo>). The former racer turned executive joins other members of the F1 fraternity who have shared their discontent with the [expensive piece of scaffolding](<https://www.thedrive.com/start-finish/14673/formula-one-halo-could-cost-as-much-as-a-small-car>).

"I'm not impressed with the whole thing," said Wolff. "If you give me a chainsaw, I would take it off."

![message-editor%2F1519614974145-m147585.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1519614974145-m147585.jpg>)
*Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 W09., *Daimler AG**

Wolff also zeroed in on the aesthetics of the Halo, which in turn, made him sound rather vain.

"We need to look after the drivers' safety but what we have implemented is aesthetically not appealing. We need to tackle that and come up with a solution that looks better," Wolff told members of the media.

McLaren-Renault's Fernando Alonso [responded](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18766/fernando-alonso-thinks-f1s-halo-shouldnt-be-a-debatable-issue>) to Wolff's harsh criticism of a device that's implemented for driver's safety by saying that, "there shouldn't be any debate" around a measure that's designed to protect the drivers. Perhaps an individual's position on the device will vary depending on whether they sit inside or outside the cockpit during a race.

## Author
Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/drive_jerry/>)