Lewis Hamilton fears Formula One could be left "kicking" itself if a driver gets injured in an accident that could have been prevented by the Halo cockpit protection device.
The FIA had been pushing to introduce head protection in time for next season but the F1 Strategy Group unanimously voted against introducing Halo for 2017 ahead of the German Grand Prix, allowing further time to continue to develop the concept for 2018.
When asked about his thoughts on the vote to reject the device for 2017, Hamilton said he hopes there are no unintended consequences as a result of not running Halo next year.
"I don't really know why it's not going to be there next year and that was a point that I made," he said.
"I basically had asked that if we are unfortunate enough to have an incident in the next year and a half and we knew we had a solution for it -- that would have played a role in it -- at the end of next year we are really going to be kicking ourselves."
The three-time world champion, who had previously been a critic of the device, changed his mind over Halo after viewing an FIA presentation during the Hungarian Grand Prix last month.
Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel are among the drivers who have publicly voiced their support of Halo, with Vettel stating that no argument against Halo could "justify death". Having seen the FIA demonstration portraying the benefits of Halo, Hamilton believes the concept should not be ignored.
"They've got a solution which does help and I think the great thing; the FIA have done a fantastic job in the last 20-odd years in always making increments and steps and while it doesn't look great, we know that, but that 17 percent we can't ignore.
"I just hope in that space of time when we know that we do have it and the teams can afford to put it on the cars, between now and next season, I hope in that period of time no one gets injured, including myself."