Red Bull's F1 aeroscreen helps the look of cars, Button believes

Red Bull introduced its take on F1 cockpit protection on Daniel Ricciardo's car during first practice for the Russian Grand Prix, with the Australian saying his visibility was "fine" during the single installation lap.

While world champion Lewis Hamilton is not a fan of the aeroscreen, or the halo trialled by Ferrari during pre-season testing, his former team-mate Button liked what he saw on Friday.

"I think it looks pretty - I think it looks better than a normal Formula 1 car," he said.

"I think in a couple of years if we did go for that design that was on the Red Bull today, we'll look back and we'll think the cars look weird without it.

"I used to watch the F1 powerboats in Bristol with the family, with the open cockpit for many years, then they had the closed cockpit and it looked so much cooler.

"[But] that's not a reason to have that option. It's for safety and we have to choose the right option for safety."

Alonso also believes that safety must be the key factor rather than aesthetics, but agreed with Button that he preferred the look of Red Bull's concept over the halo.

"We need to trust the FIA and the decision, they have of all the information," he said.

"Which one is better, [more] comfortable, safe, you know, there are many factors.

"We just look from the outside, probably the Red Bull solution is a little bit better from an aesthetic point of view.

"But, I think FIA will decide the best one and hopefully there are more options coming.

"It's very early days, so the important thing is we find a solution and it's a must that will come from next year, hopefully, and we need to find the best solution to do that."

MASSA AND GROSJEAN BACK HALO

While the McLaren pair are comfortable with the aeroscreen, Williams driver Felipe Massa and Haas's Romain Grosjean say they prefer the halo.

When asked for his take, Massa said: "It's not so nice, to be honest.

"Maybe the Ferrari piece was better. I am in favour of the safety of the driver, but it's important to choose the right system."

Grosjean said he was in favour of a system that remained as close to an open cockpit as possible.

"I didn't see it [in person], I saw the pictures," he said.

"I prefer the halo system because I think in Formula 1 you have to get the helmet in the air.

"If not it becomes a closed car. So I'm more in favour of the halo."