Vettel keeps open mind about ’Shield’

Sebastian Vettel was keeping an open mind before giving the ’Shield’ cockpit protection design its track debut at Silverstone.

The German’s Ferrari has been fitted with the open-topped, polycarbonate windshield for the opening laps of Friday practice ahead of the British grand prix.

F1’s governing body says either the Shield or the controversial Halo concept will be mandatory in 2018.

"I don’t know how many laps I’ll have it for, but let’s see what sensations I will have," the championship leader said.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner urged F1 not to rush to introduce it.

"We have to ensure we do not violate our duty of care by not doing our homework thoroughly," he said.

"There are still quite a few points to clarify as I’m not sure it has been tested as extensively as the Halo or the Aeroscreen.

"I would prefer we went for an introduction in 2019," the Briton added.