Ricciardo Wishes for Flexibility in Race Start Times to Accommodate Predicted Weather

Daniel Ricciardo wished that the FIA Formula 1 World Championship had more flexibility in its race times, particularly where rain is predicted to fall during a Grand Prix.

The McLaren F1 Team driver was speaking after the rain delays seen during the Japanese Grand Prix, which ultimately ended as a forty-minute sprint to the chequered flag as the weather prevented any running after an early red flag.

Ricciardo knows that race times are predominantly dictated by television coverage, but he feels more could have been done to give the fans at the Suzuka International Racing Course more of a race if they could have brought the start time forward, even by an hour or so.

“We want to race,” Ricciardo said to Motorsport.com.  “Where I wish we could do better is… I know it’s easy saying it now, but we knew this rain was going to come. It’s like 2014.

“Even if you bring it forward an hour, maybe we gain 20 laps at the beginning and you can still make a race of it. That’s where again, let’s try and learn something from this. I know there’s TV and everything, there’s a big part of it.

“Ultimately, we want to have a race.”

Looking back at the initial start, Ricciardo knew early that it was too wet for the intermediate tyres that everyone begun the race on, and although it was nice for the Australian to gain some places after a lacklustre Qualifying, there was part of him that was scared.

“Part of me was scared, part of me enjoyed it,” Ricciardo said. “It was nice to gain a few spots.

“As soon as we got into Turn 1, I was like ‘ah wow, there’s too much water’. The visibility was so bad. I feel like the onboard cameras did it justice.

“But then I was happy to get the race going again. I didn’t think it would.”