Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has demanded Formula One's power brokers vote through the Halo and said a decision to block the controversial cockpit head protection system would be "stupid".
Formula One's strategy group, which consists of the sport's teams, as well as chief executive Bernie Ecclestone and FIA president Jean Todt, met in Geneva on Thursday to determine whether the Halo should be given the green light for next season.
The FIA, the sport's governing body, is keen for the safety device to become mandatory following a spate of high-profile accidents in recent years.
But the Halo, which was first trialled in pre-season testing and runs at approximately head height around the cockpit, has courted criticism for its appearance with Ecclestone among those publicly known to be against introducing such a change.
The FIA needs a majority decision on the Halo from the strategy group before it is ratified by the Formula One commission where unanimity is then required.
The Halo has divided opinion in the paddock, with defending champion Lewis Hamilton having described it as "the worst-looking modification" in the sport's history.
Hamilton, however, has recently changed his mind following a presentation by the FIA in Hungary last Friday night.
But his fellow Briton Jolyon Palmer believes the majority of his peers are hopeful it will not become mandatory.
Palmer said: "Most people I speak to are against the Halo, but don't really voice it, so I think there's a bit of a divide. Some of the older guys prefer it and the younger guys don't."
But Vettel, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, and one who has been an advocate of the Halo, issued a strong response to Palmer's claim ahead of the German Grand Prix.
"I am a bit surprised because it doesn't sound like we are clear on what we want," Vettel said. "We had a vote amongst the drivers, and 95 per cent voted for it. I don't know why all of a sudden it comes up the way it does. I think it is the wrong impression.
"The majority said we don't like the look of it but I don't think there is anything really that justifies death.
"We have always learned from what happened, and tried to improve. This would be the first time in human history that we've learnt a lesson and we don't change.
"It is up to us to make sure it does happen otherwise it would be quite stupid."
The decision, which would change the face of sport as a truly open-cockpit formula, rests in the hands of the sport's teams, plus Ecclestone and Todt.
If the vote goes against world governing body the FIA, Todt has the power to push the Halo through on safety grounds, but it is understood he will not take such action.
The bid to improve cockpit safety comes after Frenchman Jules Bianchi last year became the first driver to die following injuries sustained at a grand prix weekend since the fatality of Ayrton Senna at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.
British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson and Henry Surtees, competing in Formula Two, were killed in recent years after they were struck on the crash helmet by debris from other accidents.
The FIA claims both drivers would have been saved had the Halo been installed on their cars.
Source: PA
