Halo 'definitely still a work in progress' - Ricciardo

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Daniel Ricciardo says the Halo is "definitely still a work in progress" but had no major concerns after his first test of the device on Friday at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Ricciardo was one of four drivers - including Nico Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz - to test the Halo during FP1 at Spa-Francorchamps as part of the FIA's attempts to get more driver feedback on the cockpit protection device. Following his installation lap on Friday, Ricciardo said his first impressions were promising, with no obvious problems.

"It is not too bad," Ricciardo said. "It is definitely still a work in progress. The first time I’ve run it – I’d only run the aeroscreen before. So it was definitely different. But it was definitely good to test it, and to test it here.

"That is what we have to keep doing for now, so more drivers can test it before the end of the season. And just getting feedback. So I will give some feedback tonight. We’ve been given a sheet, a bit of homework.

"First impressions were not too bad. There are still a few things that can be worked on, but it is not unexpected for now. Generally speaking, not too bad."

Focusing on Red Bull's performance on Friday - when Max Verstappen led a one-two in FP2 - Ricciardo says the team will attempt to save soft tyres given the performance of the supersofts in hot conditions.

"We used the prototypes, a prototype soft. We definitely will still have a couple for tomorrow. The supersoft today did not really hold up well. We expected that in this heat, and it is such a long lap around here as well, so we don’t want to have too many of them for Sunday. We feel that it is going to stay hot like this."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.