Horner: Active Windscreen could work if made simpler

Motorsport.com revealed on Thursday that former Ferrari and Williams engineer Enrique Scalabroni has been working on an active cockpit protection system.

The device would react to an incident by firing a windshield up in front of the driver as well as a hood to protect his helmet if flying debris was detected.

The plans were shown to Horner and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone by Scalabroni at the Italian Grand Prix.

Although a final decision on pursuing the idea would be down to the FIA, Horner suggested that there could be scope to look at the idea, especially if it can be made less complex.

"It is an interesting concept but more for the FIA to consider than the teams," explained Horner. "It looks ambitious from what I have seen in the drawing, and perhaps there is a more simple solution that can be pursued.

"The positive thing is moves are afoot to address it [cockpit protection]. Everybody takes safety incredibly seriously and it is important the solution we do come up with is the right solution and deals with all the issues like visibility etc., that some of the drivers are concerned about."

Halo visibility

Lewis Hamilton became the latest driver to test the Halo during the first free practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Speaking about it afterwards, Hamilton said that the only issue for him was visibility for his mirrors.

"Running the Halo was no real issue," he said. "I barely noticed it, to be honest – just in my mirrors where it blocked the view slightly."

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff said: "The comment has been that with visibility there is a problem with the mirrors, so we need to work on that. But besides that they didn't complain."