Belgian GP: Nico Rosberg tops practice session with Halo system; Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg try out too

After Ferrari and Mercedes, Red Bull tried out the halo cockpit protection system in the practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa on Friday.

Red Bull already have their own version of the protection system. In their system, a small windscreen is put on the cockpit for the protection of the driver from objects striking the helmet. Other teams have said that the mechanism is not yet safe enough.

According to Foxsport, Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, Toto Rosso driver Carlos Sainz, and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg also tried the new system.

“I think it’s the ideal track to check it out, because, at the end, it’s a visibility test,” Sainz said before the session. “And here, through Eau Rouge, is where you really need to feel whether it’s compromised or not.”

Despite the testings, the idea to implement the protection system has been pushed to the next season because the teams felt it is not yet perfect and needs more testing.

Nico Rosberg comfortably topped the timesheets at the end of Friday's opening practice session for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.

The German set a pace of one minute 48.348 seconds, 0.730 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, on a glorious sunny day at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Rosberg was one of four drivers to briefly test the "halo" head protection device during the session, even setting his benchmark time with it fitted to his car.

(With Reuters inputs)