Jenson Button has rubbished Bernie Ecclestone’s idea of introducing the concept of ‘shortcuts’ to F1. Ecclestone suggested last week that each driver be allowed a quota of shortcuts during a race, that he could then use to prevent getting stuck behind another driver.
The FOM Chairman said it would liven up the races and provide entertaining television. But speaking at the Autosport International event, Button did not support the idea.
“I suppose if you are the only person who knows about [the shortcut] then it is a great idea,” Button said.
“We struggle seeing anyway out of the sides of the cars, because the cockpit comes up to here for safety reasons. So if there is a car coming at an angle, it can be very dangerous.
“It’s probably not one of his better ideas. Bernie has a lot of very, very good ideas, and that is not one of the best ideas that Bernie has come up with.”
Ecclestone has demonstrated his desire to liven up the spectacle of F1 increasingly in the past year or so. The infamous ‘medal’ idea he had was universally condemned by the F1 paddock. But in the wake of the failure of the Overtaking Working Group’s proposals for 2009, which were confounded by the effectiveness of the double diffuser some teams used, it is to Ecclestone’s credit that he is trying to spice things up.
Many teams and drivers favour a combination of reduced aerodynamic efficiency and better circuit design to improve the show.
