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The position of the starting lights on the start/finish straights throughout the calendar will be change to work with the halo. The lights now rest lower to the ground, as it was found that the halo previously blocked the drivers' view of the start procedure.
The halo has caused an outcry from fans who deem it too ugly, taking away from the visual aspect of the cars. A number of minor changes have also been made in light of the halo, including the screens the driver's watch while sitting in the garage and a step to help the driver enter the cockpit.
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"Pole position seems to be the worst case scenario with the halo," said race director Charlie Whiting in Melbourne. "Maybe the driver can't quite see the lights, or see only half of them, and he might have to move his head too much."
Drivers were all allowed to run a practice start at the end of both Friday practice sessions. Whiting said that normally, the FIA wouldn't allow the drivers to carry out the procedure at Albert Park, but it made an exception this time around to allow them to get a feel for the change.
"We haven't normally allowed practice starts on the grid here because it's quite a tight timetable," Whiting said. "What I thought would be a good idea was to give the driver sight of those lights, rather than for the first time on Sunday evening."
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