Ricciardo doesn't think Halo will change F1

Daniel Ricciardo has given his opinion on the introduction of the new 'Halo' safety device, and it is his belief that safety must come before aesthetics and that the change to the vehicle chassis will ultimately not change the proceedings too much in Formula One.

The device acts as a barrier around the helmet of the driver to protect them from potential falling materials following crashes, but concerns have been raised about the visibility of the participants during races.

Ricciardo is open to the change, however, and insisted that the introduction will just become a part of the sport like any other rule or requirement.

"I think people will get over Halo quite soon," the Red Bull driver told RACER.com. "It's only the look [fans] will need to adjust to, but the racing shouldn't change one bit."

He said that there has been other equally controversial changes down the years which had quickly been accepted.

"When the cars changed between 2008 and 2009 they also didn't look very good," he mentioned.

"But people got used to it, and then it became normal to have the tall and narrow rear wings. Even though it was a very strange Formula 1 car."

Ricciardo admits that the Halo makes the cars not as pretty as before, but this is a small price to pay for safety.

"I think there's been very mixed feelings between drivers and within the media and among fans," he admitted.

"It doesn't look as nice as how the cars look now. It's more to save the freak accidents. If any part of the car flies off it can stop a fatality.

"People forget, and it's easy when there hasn't been one for a couple of years. People say it's all fine and safe, but every time something happens it highlights the dangers.

"It won't change the adrenaline of the sport, the excitement," he continued. "All it's really doing is protecting us from a freak accident.

"The racing will still be the same. The risks we take are still the same. So I don't see any real big change."