Lewis Hamilton says something must be done to ensure drivers can complete more laps during practice on Friday and Saturday morning.
He believes the current setup, which often sees some cars sitting it out to save tyres and engine mileage, is bad for the fans.
“I have sympathy for the people watching maybe just one car going round for the first half an hour – I think it can be managed a bit better,” he said.
“When I used to turn on Formula 1 I wanted to see people driving around.
“Now I’m among the drivers, when you come into the garage and don’t go out I can just imagine [what the fans think].”
Most recently in China, both Mercedes’ didn’t complete timed laps during third practice to save engine use, whilst those who did go out completed just 10 laps on average.
Hamilton has urged F1 to find a solution to the problem and suggested allowing practice only power units.
“We can’t have too much mileage on the engine so you’re limited to almost 15 or 16 laps in the one session.
“We almost need a free engine and we’d be bolting around; we’d get 30 or 40 laps at least in each session.
“I think it would be good fun for the fans to see, and good for development.”
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