Horner doubts Shield approval ahead of meeting

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner doubts the Shield cockpit protection device will be introduced in 2018, ahead of a Formula 1 Strategy Group meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting in Geneva is likely to discuss whether plans to push ahead with the Shield continue for next season, with the FIA having previously said it is committed to bringing in additional cockpit protection in 2018. The Shield received its first public track test during FP1 for the British Grand Prix, with Sebastian Vettel complaining the device made him feel dizzy and also heavily impacted on the aerodynamics inside the cockpit.

Horner believes Vettel's concerns show there is too much work still to be done on the Shield to commit to it for next season.

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"Based on the comments I've read from Sebastian it didn't sound to be too popular," Horner said. "It feels immature in its concept at the moment to introduce for next year. I am sure it will be discussed at the Strategy Group on Wednesday."

Asked when the deadline is for teams to know whether the Shield will be introduced or if the FIA will revert to the previously preferred Halo concept, Horner replied: "About two months ago.

"So these things have [a wide impact], particularly the Shield or the screen, you could hear [Vettel] saying that it was pushing his head forward and playing around with the aerodynamics quite significantly. So those things take a bit of time to get on top for a big team like Red Bull Racing, so I can only imagine the difficulty that would present for a lesser-equipped team."

The Shield family of systems was prioritized following a Strategy Group meeting in April. Last year, the FIA opted to delay the introduction of cockpit protection by 12 months in order to allow for more testing of different solutions.

"It was decided that owing to the relatively short timeframe until the commencement of the 2017 Formula 1 season it would be prudent to use the remainder of this year and early next year to further evaluate the full potential of all options before final confirmation," the FIA said in a statement last July.

The delay came about following a meeting of the Strategy Group, which features the FIA, the Commercial Rights holder and six teams: Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Williams and the highest-placed team from the previous season's constructors' championship, currently Force India. Following Liberty Media's takeover of F1 earlier this year it was agreed to allow non-Strategy Group teams – Renault, Haas, Toro Rosso and Sauber – to attend meetings as observers.