FERRARI TO TEST SHIELD AT SILVERSTONE

Sebastian Vettel to test new Shield in F1 Free Practice – Photo: LAT

Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari will be the first team to trial the new Shield cockpit protection system, which they will debut during free practice at this weekends British Grand Prix.

After temporarily shelving plans to introduce the Halo design which was tested in 2016, F1 management have been working for months on alternative systems to provide additional head protection for its drivers.

The Shield design, seen to be more visually appealing than the Halo design, features a see-through screen developed by Italian company Isoclima.

Described by the FIA as a “transparent open canopy system constructed using polycarbonate providing significant protection from debris, while ensuring unrestricted forward vision for the driver”.

The Shield fitted to Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari – Photo: LAT

It’s expected the Shield will be tested several more times throughout the remainder of the year, so F1 can make a decision on weather to introduce it in 2018.

“I will run it, we’ll see for how long,” Vettel said prior to seeing it fitted to his car.

“I have seen it on the computer, (but) I haven’t seen it in real life, I’ll check it out later on.

“Then obviously it depends on how it feels tomorrow.”

The Shield fitted to Vettel’s Ferrari – Photo: LAT

Despite the test, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner warned F1 not to rush into deploying Shield without “due diligence being done properly”, suggesting that introducing the system in 2019 would make more sense.

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