Formula One cars will look radically different next season after the sport’s governing body confirmed the controversial cockpit safety device known as the halo is to become mandatory.

Following a meeting of the sport’s major players in Geneva yesterday, the FIA revealed it has given the go-ahead to introduce the concept next year.

Lewis Hamilton described the halo, first used in winter testing last year and designed to block debris, as the “worst-looking modification” in the sport’s history. The British driver changed his mind following a subsequent safety presentation but the aesthetics of the device, with its three prongs which run at approximately head height around the cockpit, has courted criticism.

The halo was tested by all 10 teams at different stages during last season. In a statement the FIA confirmed the halo’s introduction and said: “With the support of the teams, certain features of its design will be further enhanced. Having developed and evaluated a large number of devices over the past five years, it had become clear the halo presents the best overall safety performance.”

Sebastian Vettel ran with the so-called “shield” – an alternative device to the halo – fixed to his Ferrari during practice at the British Grand Prix last week. He cut short the trial complaining of dizziness.

The safety move comes after the British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson and Henry Surtees, competing in Formula Two, were killed after debris from other accidents struck them on the helmet. Felipe Massa sustained a skull fracture when a suspension part fell off Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn and hit his head during qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.