Halo blocks drivers’ vision, starting lights shifted: Season Opener

Melbourne: “After the winter debates, pro and against the protective device, all focus shifted away from the halo and on to the cars’ performance,” claimed an F1 release.

But it had to admit: …“the halo still managed to hold on to a bit of the limelight, as the starting lights were shifted under instruction from FIA Formula 1 Race Director Charlie Whiting. This because the drivers
could not see through the halo to the lights high above them, this problem being worse for the cars on the front row of the grid.”

Now one can decide if that is a bit of the limelight. Read the High Octane Column by Harish Samtani here: F1 running out of fresh ideas to breathe life back into racing!

The 2018 season has finally got underway at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit as the Friday practice sessions were run under a hot sun and blue skies. Mercedes posted the best times across the two sessions, confirming what was seen in the Barcelona tests a few weeks ago. Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in both practices, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen managing to split the Mercedes drivers, pushing Valtteri Bottas into 3rd place in the second free practice. Fourth and 5th were the Ferrari, with Kimi Raikkonen ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

The Melbourne weekend also witnessed the debut of Brendon Hartley’s social media collaboration with Formula 1 as he takes us on a journey with him on his first full season as one of the top drivers in the world. Follow Toro Rosso’s Kiwi here:

Also, new this weekend is Brian Tyler’s newly-composed music for the Formula 1 starting sequence. Recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the score reflects the power and the fury of F1 cars as interpreted by one of Hollywood’s most successful film and game music
composers.

F1 Release!