New F2 car to incorporate Halo for 2018

The 2018 Formula 2 car will also feature a Halo as the FIA looks to implement the cockpit protection device in as many categories at the first opportunity.

The new generation of F2 car will be launched in the Monza paddock on Thursday, replacing the chassis (pictured below this weekend at Spa) introduced in 2011. RACER has learned the new car will feature a Halo following the approval of the device for Formula 1 in 2018, with Formula 2 race director Laurent Mekies explaining the FIA felt it was crucial to take on the challenge of implementing the Halo into the new chassis.

"It was always in our minds that, as we do for most things, you go to F1 first – you go to one of the world championships first because this is where we do the R&D most of the time – and then we have the cascading of what we develop into other categories and it normally comes one, two or three years after," Mekies told RACER. "It allows us to handle the introduction of new things and also sort the cost and availability of supply to cope with it.

"So in all respects it's a very, very tight call. The president of the FIA [Jean Todt] pushed very hard on all of us to get fast deployment of the Halo because he felt there was nothing that should push us to protect the big guys [in F1] more than the other guys. Therefore we are trying to deploy as fast as possible, which is a good thing.

"The other factor that made us push as hard is that 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.

"So for obvious reasons we will push for that, and now we have in front of us almost as big a challenge as developing the Halo itself, which is taking it to the production phase, setting a standard, homologating suppliers and getting it done. So we are in a new race now."

The Halo that will be on the F2 car this week will be an interim version while homologation continues, with the FIA hoping to add a list of approved suppliers to its technical list for the championship to pick from. Mekies added it was important for the FIA to show its intent by quickly introducing the device to a category below F1.

"Technically, the main planning factor was the car life cycle. After that you're right there's a positive effect in deploying quickly because you set the new standard and that's what fans want to see and perhaps the car will look old without it now. We'll see.

"We have working groups with all the car manufacturers and we met them all again last week, and the general feeling is the decision has been made, let's get on with it. They want it on their car now. So I think we will have a positive effect from the rapid deployment."