The FIA pushed the Halo device through on safety grounds at a meeting of the Formula One Strategy Group.

The decision is something of a surprise, not only because the FIA had stepped back from an earlier firm commitment to introduce the Halo this year, but also because of the recent emergence of a potentially more palatable cockpit protection device than the widely disliked Halo, in the form of the co-called 'Shield'.

But after testing the Shield for the first time, ahead of last weekend’s British Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel said it made him feel ‘dizzy’. Haas driver Romain Grosjean also tried it, but said it was no better than the Halo he had tested last year.

While it is thought that majority of  teams voted against the Halo, the FIA held firm, insisting that it would be mandated for 2018 on safety grounds. A statement from the FIA released on the official Formula One website confirmed the decision, declaring that
“with the support of the teams, certain features' of the Halo would be 'further enhanced'.

Having developed and evaluated a large number of devices over the past five years, it had become clear that the Halo presents the best overall safety performance.”