Halo could block drivers’ view of starting lights

The Frenchman is one of only three drivers to have tried the device, the others being Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, as he completed two installation laps with Halo at last month’s Silverstone test driving for Red Bull.

At the time, Gasly said the system felt “weird” from inside the cockpit, and later reported to the FIA that he felt “claustrophobic” using Halo.

It is understood that his comments contributed to the decision of the governing body to delay introducing the system until 2018, with more testing planned in the meantime.

“I’ve been driving open cockpits since I started [racing], I’ve never tried GTs or anything like this, so for me single-seaters have always been like this,” Gasly told Motorsport.com.

“It’s not exactly where you’re looking, because of course you’re look at the apexes and the braking points, so you’re not looking so much at this part of what you see.

“But you feel it there, you feel it around you, and it felt a bit weird.

“For sure in some circuits, it could have been a problem, like at Radillion, and for the lights at the start – a couple of things like this, they need to think about.

“The fact it was so different to what I was always used to made it a bit strange to me.”

Asked if he was pleased that his opinion counted for so much despite only being a GP2 driver, Gasly replied: "Definitely! From my side, if I can help with the small experience I have, it’s always good.

“I was quite happy to test it, be one of the few drivers to try it, and get the feeling about it.

“At least, if they adopt it one day, I already know the feeling of having it on the car.”