Each F1 team must buy the halo from one of three manufacturers. Despite being built from lightweight titanium, the halo weighs about 30 pounds, a significant chunk in a sport where every ounce counts. And it puts that mass high up, challenging engineers and drivers who prefer the car's center of gravity be as low as possible, for improved cornering stability.

“This kind of weight will have an effect, period,” says Joseph Katz, engineer at San Diego State University, and author of Race Car Aerodynamics: Designing for Speed. Because each team uses its own suspension and aerodynamic setup, each will deal with that effect in its own way. The cars being presented now won't be the same at the end of the season: From one race to another, the teams play with their designs, always looking for the microscopic advantages that make such a difference in this sport.

The arrival of the halo will intensify that evolution. It could negatively impact airflow into the engine and cooling ducts. Or, because manufacturers are allowed to wrap it in a shroud of carbon fiber, they could turn the basic halo into an advantageous form.

“I would not be surprised if someone tries to make an airfoil shape, then tries to make it create downforce,” says Katz. (That's when the air pushes the car down, planting it more firmly on the ground, and helping with stability.)

The most obvious hazard of the halo—it's right in front of the driver's face—doesn't seem to be a problem at all. “I really didn't notice it was there,” says Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, after taking the new design for a spin at Silverstone’s National Circuit on Monday. The only time he did see it was when there were overhead track signs requiring a glance up. He did say it makes getting out of the car trickier, which could be an issue after a crash, but that’s a trade-off the FIA has deemed acceptable for the extra protection.

Still, it's early days. The drivers haven't tested the design in all the conditions a season of racing all over the world, from Canada to Brazil to Singapore, will present. The halo might change the way the air buffets their heads, causing vibrations or noise, for example. Visibility could vary at the Singapore Grand Prix, which takes place at night, or in the tunnel that makes up part of the Monaco track. Whatever the effect, expect to see sponsors elbow for room on the halo, a potentially valuable bit of real estate, especially since it will obscure some of the driver's helmet.

The halo is just the latest innovation in a decades-long quest to make Formula 1 safe, one that has been rather successful. Crashes are common; fatalities are rare. The 2015 death of Jules Bianchi, following a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, was the first since that of Aryton Senna in 1994.

More than any sport, F1 is about evolution: getting faster, more efficient, safer. The FIA is already looking into refined versions of a halo for future years, as well as other ideas to protect drivers’ heads. So while that band of titanium may be the defining characteristic of 2018's cars, it may not be there forever.

Formula Fun