McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo suggests wet-weather fix for F1
- Planet Sport writer
- 16 October 2022
McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo has suggested that Formula 1 consider bringing race start times forward when it is known there will be heavy rain.
Ricciardo believes the solution to weather-effected races is simple and has made a suggestion after the Japanese Grand Prix was almost completely washed out by inclement weather.
Everyone was dreading a repeat of Belgium last season after the race in Japan was also red flagged just one lap in because of heavy rain.
While Formula 1 struggles to make a schedule that fits in with its prime audience in Europe, especially with races in Asia like the one in Japan, Ricciardo believes the organisation should be more focused on producing a good race, rather than making sure as many people could watch it as possible.
"We want to race," said Ricciardo. "Where I wish we could do better is…look, I know it's easy saying it now, but we knew this rain was going to come.
"Even if you bring it [the start] forward by an hour, maybe we gain 20 laps at the beginning and you can still make a race of it.
"So that's where again, let's try to learn something from this.
"I know there's TV and everything that's a big part of it but ultimately, we want to have a race, so that's more important."