Surtees urges Hamilton to rethink Halo stance

The Mercedes driver used his Instagram account to label the version trialled by Ferrari in testing at Barcelona the "worst-looking mod in F1 history".

"Please no! This is the worst looking mod in Formula 1 history. I appreciate the quest for safety but this is Formula 1, and the way it is now is perfectly fine," wrote Hamilton.

The Briton has since removed the post from his account.

1964 world champion Surtees, whose son Henry perished after being struck by a flying wheel during a 2009 Formula 2 race, reckons Hamilton's stance is wrong - and feels Henry would've had a much better chance of surviving his incident if he had been protected by a device like the Halo.

"I suffered the tragedy of losing Henry, which certainly could've been prevented by a development like this," Surtees told the BBC.

"Lewis could perhaps think a little more about the 'Halo' and think about the responsibility he does have as a world champion.

"Change comes about and sometimes changes are forced upon one. It may be that the governing body, just because of the momentum and the fact that they have gone this way, will have no option but to impose these regulations.

"Sebastian [Vettel] hit the nail very clearly on the head with what he said. Henry was hit by a wheel that weighed 28kg so there would have been a chance there."