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[irons_4_ever]

Williams driver Nico Rosberg has criticised the decision to start races late in the afternoon as he believes twilight racing is too dangerous.

Like Sunday's opening race in Australia, the Malaysian Grand Prix is starting at 1700 local time to catch a bigger television audience in Europe.

But Rosberg said: "Twilight racing is not the way to go."

Rosberg also warned that this weekend's race in Malaysia could be halted because of heavy rain.

The 23-year-old German finished in sixth place in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday but was concerned as the light faded at the end of the race.

"In Melbourne it was obvious that it just increases the danger so much," said Rosberg, who finished second in Formula 1's first night race in Singapore last year.

"The visibility is so difficult, you can't even see the edges of the track in some corners. I was driving into the sun and that's not what racing is about. So I really hope they reconsider that.

"Even moving it forward by one hour or something will help us massively. It was just the last part of the race that was the really problematic time."

And with the Malaysian Grand Prix taking place this weekend, Rosberg has warned that the late start combined with the threat of possible tropical downpours could cause problems in Kuala Lumpur.

"If the monsoon comes down, the race is going to have to be stopped because we can't race and drive with that amount of water," he added.

The Williams team are not yet using the new energy storage and power boost system (Kers) but Rosberg says he wants it available as soon as possible.

The technology stores energy that would have been wasted while braking and allows drivers a boost of an extra 80bhp for seven seconds each lap and Rosberg said: "It was clear in Melbourne that, especially for racing, it's a very beneficial thing to have.

"I was really struggling to hold behind me people with Kers and also to overtake people with Kers was difficult for me.

"It's definitely something we need to push hard to get on the car. I'm not sure when it's going to happen but hopefully soon.

"But also that makes it interesting for the racing, some teams have it and some teams don't. It's just a big mess and that's what the spectators need."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsp ... 974213.stm

He has a point it got well dark towards the end of the race, and with some cloud in to in Malaysia then its going to be Mayhem

[Denthúl]

I agree completely with him. Ecclestone's mad idea about these twilight races caused Piquet to retire and caused the problems with Jarno and Hamilton. If it was to rain in one of these twilight races, the red flag would be out and the race would stop there and then. There would be no opportunity to continue later.

[EwanM]

I agree completely with him. Ecclestone's mad idea about these twilight races caused Piquet to retire and caused the problems with Jarno and Hamilton. If it was to rain in one of these twilight races, the red flag would be out and the race would stop there and then. There would be no opportunity to continue later.

Which is one of the worries for this weekend's race.

[8-ball]

If you really are an F1 fan then you would be up early in the morning to watch the races. I don't if I have to get up at 3 in the morning to catch the GP action and I dare say everyone on this forum is the same.

GPDA should be onto this as it is a driver safety issue.

[emma]

If you really are an F1 fan then you would be up early in the morning to watch the races.

Or you can just watch the re-run. Well, you can in the UK, I dunno if they do that elsewhere. Or record the race. Not as fun but more practical!
Getting up at stupid o'clock in the morning is fine if I have nothing planned for the day, but the trouble is I work on a Sunday. So, actually, pushing the start time back worked out quite well for me - I still got a pretty good night's sleep, and the race was over before I had to start. I wouldn't want to compromise driver safety / quality of races, though. Like I said, if I can't get up to watch, I'll just record it. I end up recording most of them anyway, since I tend to be at work when all the European ones are on. It sucks not seeing them live, but at least I don't miss it!

[JAKE THE F1 MAN!!]

If you really are an F1 fan then you would be up early in the morning to watch the races. I don't if I have to get up at 3 in the morning to catch the GP action and I dare say everyone on this forum is the same.

GPDA should be onto this as it is a driver safety issue.

Agree with the above comment.

I think getting up earlier in the morning is better then a boring mid-day race!

It definatly is a safety issue, i wouldn't be surprised if one race is stopped due to bad light etc...

[Denthúl]

If you really are an F1 fan then you would be up early in the morning to watch the races. I don't if I have to get up at 3 in the morning to catch the GP action and I dare say everyone on this forum is the same.

GPDA should be onto this as it is a driver safety issue.

It feels more exciting because you're up early to watch it, I guess. Especially when the final round used to be in Japan - you used to be getting up for something special!

[irons_4_ever]

i used to enjoy setting the alarm for silly oclock, the fia are putting the drivers at risk. A bit of cloud and that well be it for these races.

If ya going to do twilight races do it at a track that has the option of floodlights atleast

[7UpJordan]

Nico has made an excellent point, and it'll hopefully piss Bernie off (again) as he was the one threatening to axe Melbourne if it didn't become a twilight race.

Because we have all talked about the rain so much now it probably won't show up in Malaysia. Nico doesn't like driving in the wet, but he always seems to run well in it, mind you Senna said he was never a fan of the wet, but thought it was a great advantage to use against Prost.

[racechick]

If you really are an F1 fan then you would be up early in the morning to watch the races. I don't if I have to get up at 3 in the morning to catch the GP action and I dare say everyone on this forum is the same.

GPDA should be onto this as it is a driver safety issue.

It feels more exciting because you're up early to watch it, I guess. Especially when the final round used to be in Japan - you used to be getting up for something special!

[cap-dude]

I think it's stupid that Bernie is pushing races in the middle east and then demanding they're broadcasted at a reasonable time for UK viewers. You go to the middle east at least respect the fact that the races are going to be on early.

This has already lead to problems with driver not being able to see corners. That's no good, whats the point in the fact that the casual viewer is able to get up and watch a race, only to find that the race is crap because all the drivers can't see and would rather not risk overtaking cause they don't know where exactly the corner turns to grass.

Bernie, please leave the sport. The mans got nothing better to do after his divorce than making up crack-pot theories to make more money from F1 so he can attract an even taller wife.

[Jensonb]

If you really are an F1 fan then you would be up early in the morning to watch the races. I don't if I have to get up at 3 in the morning to catch the GP action and I dare say everyone on this forum is the same.

GPDA should be onto this as it is a driver safety issue.

It feels more exciting because you're up early to watch it, I guess. Especially when the final round used to be in Japan - you used to be getting up for something special!

I agree as well, the late night races are ace.

[EwanM]

If you really are an F1 fan then you would be up early in the morning to watch the races. I don't if I have to get up at 3 in the morning to catch the GP action and I dare say everyone on this forum is the same.

GPDA should be onto this as it is a driver safety issue.

It feels more exciting because you're up early to watch it, I guess. Especially when the final round used to be in Japan - you used to be getting up for something special!

I agree as well, the late night races are ace.

Me three.

[McLaren Fan]

As usual, we've got more verbose , hyperbolic statements from Formula One drivers. According to Coulthard last year, half of the drivers were going to be killed because of the ban on traction control. According to Kubica (et al.) there was meant to be carnage last weekend. In neither of these cases it materialised. Yes, racing in the twilight posed some visibility problems and that should be taken into account for next season's race, but spare the bloody melodrama.

[Denthúl]

As usual, we've got more verbose , hyperbolic statements from Formula One drivers. According to Coulthard last year, half of the drivers were going to be killed because of the ban on traction control. According to Kubica (et al.) there was meant to be carnage last weekend. In neither of these cases it materialised. Yes, racing in the twilight posed some visibility problems and that should be taken into account for next season's race, but spare the bloody melodrama.

There is only one positive aspect of the twilight racing and it's not even a positive aspect for half of the fans.

Towards the end of the Australian race, drivers were struggling to see certain parts of the track because of the long shadows. In Malaysia, there are hills all round the circuit and these could cast even longer shadows. Even worse, thunderstorms are predicted for the next ten days, so at the very least there's a high chance of it being cloudy which would make things even darker. If it rains, there is no doubt that the race would have to be red flagged because of the darkness and, thus, safety aspects. Anything less than perfect weather at this part of the year could create serious issues in these twilight races.