Daniel Ricciardo has suggested that the FIA should consider extending Formula 1 practice sessions in the event of significant disruptions caused by red flags.
Friday’s second practice in Abu Dhabi grounded to a halt after eight minutes when Carlos Sainz lost control of his Ferrari at Yas Marina’s Turn 3 and crashed heavily into the outside wall.
The incident led to a lengthy halt as track marshals cleaned up the site and repaired the barrier. But when the session resumed with 25 minutes left on the clock another red flag was deployed, this time for Haas' Nico Hulkenberg who had spun and hit the wall on the exit of Turn 1 at the start of his first flying lap.
The twilight session, originally scheduled for an hour and the only one representative of qualifying and race conditions, saw only 26 minutes of track action.
A maximum of about 16 laps on the day was therefore enjoyed by those drivers – like Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton – who had not taken part in FP1 due to their team’s mandated run plans involving rookie drivers.
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Given the unique conditions that unfolded in FP2, Ricciardo believes that F1’s sporting regulations should allow for a session to be extended when a red flag significantly delays the running.
“Yes, it’s been like that for a long time, but it would be nice to stop the clock,” he said.
“I did FP1 but a lot of drivers didn’t, so they are staring down an FP2 with five laps or something.
“It would have been nice to maybe get a little bit of time back so maybe that’s something we can discuss in the drivers’ briefing and look for a few more rule changes.”
Hulkenberg, the culprit of the second stoppage in FP2, agreed with Ricciardo’s comments.
"I think it's a very fair point,” said the Haas driver.
"There are obviously other implications, how the rest of the schedule has to be changed and TV times and all these things. It's probably not as straightforward as we think.
"But obviously, we lost a good 20 minutes with Carlos' red flag with the barrier repair. So, it's probably going to be a talking point going forward."
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas offered an opposing view to his colleagues’ proposition.
"I don't think [we need changes], because it's the same for everybody else,” argued the Finn. “We have too much practice nowadays anyway. Three practices is too much.
"We don't need that anymore with the simulation tools and simulators we have nowadays."
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