Bernie Ecclestone wants to increase the excitement and uncertainty during a race by introducing ‘artificial rain’.
This is the latest ‘crazy’ idea from the 80-year-old. Other recent suggestions have included short-cuts and a medals system, both of which got the thumbs down from fans.
However, track irrigation might actually garner some support as fans have been discussing the idea for a couple of years now.
“Look at the races we have now. Overtaking is almost impossible because in the dry there is only one line good for maximum speed because of the rubber on the track,” Ecclestone told the official F1 website.
“You have a completely different picture when it is wet. We always had the most exciting races in the wet so let’s think of making rain…”
When asked to clarify his comment, he said: “Yes. There are race tracks that you can make artificially wet and it would be easy to have such systems at a number of tracks.”
Such a system could favour a certain driver or team if they manage to work their race strategy around, which is why Ecclestone suggests it happen at a certain point during the race, rather than at random.
“Why not let it ‘rain’ in the middle of a race? For 20 minutes or the last ten laps? Maybe with a two-minute warning ahead of it. Suspense would be guaranteed and it would be the same for all,” he concluded.
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