In 2015 Formula One races will see the introduction of standing restarts following any safety car period.
Last week a proposal for standing restarts from Formula One’s Strategy Group was approved by the Formula One Commission and this week it was approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.
The idea was proposed to add excitement to the spectacle of Formula One following safety car periods.
Currently when the safety car is deployed during a race, the Grand Prix can often lose its momentum.
Despite moves to close up the racing by shifting lapped drivers to the back of the grid the whole process is slow and tedious, whilst rolling starts offer little chance for overtaking manoeuvres.
The new proposal will still unfortunately have the slow process of allowing lapped cars to make their way to the back of the line, but the cars will then line back up on the grid in race order for a standing start.
We will not see the rolling restart dropped completely however.
A rolling start will still be used if the Safety Car is used within two laps of the start (or restart) of a race.
A rolling start will also be used if there are less than five laps of the race remaining.
The move has been made to add excitement for the spectators, but it isn’t clear how the change will be welcomed by the fans of the sport. Our current VitalF1 poll has asked whether it’s a good or a bad idea, with 34% backing the plan.
To have your say, use the voting panel to the right of this article.
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