Hamilton calls for 'switch up' in race weekend format

© XPB 

Lewis Hamilton has apologised to fans for the lack of on-track action on Friday at the Shanghai International Circuit.

And the Mercedes driver said it should be a wake up call to the sport and new owners Liberty to make changes.

"So sorry for all u either watching on TV or here at the track," he posted on social media on Friday. "We must find a solution to deal with weather issue."

"Seriously tho, this could actually be a blessing in disguise," he added. "A chance for new bosses to be proactive & be creative."

Hamilton has previously proposed reducing the Grand Prix weekend to just two days. That would mean packing more in to the Saturday programme.

"[Saturday] program: 3 practice sessions, qualifying Sunday morning and then race. Who's down for the switch up?" he tweeted on Friday.

Friday saw just 22 minutes of track action in the morning before concerns about the weather led to a red flag. The afternoon session was completely abandoned, because the safety helicopter was put out of service by poor visibility.

"The track was absolutely fine and we could have run all day today with no issue if it weren't for the clouds," Hamilton said.

"It's not good for the fans watching on TV. It's even worse for all those people in the stands, who have paid money to come out here.

"They've barely seen a car on track today, which must be tough for them. We need to work together with the FIA and FOM to find a solution or an alternative plan of some kind when we have circumstances like this in the future."

The weather is expected to improve for Saturday, but rain will return overnight on Saturday and could be an issue for the Chinese Grand Prix. That's led to suggestions that the FIA should pack an hour long practice session, qualifying and the race onto Saturday.

However, worldwide TV arrangements mean that's unlikely to happen at such short notice.

GALLERY: All the pictures from Friday in Shanghai

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