Charlie Whiting has revealed that the idea for standing restarts came from himself and McLaren after the two discussed ideas to spice up the sport.
The rule change will come into effect next year and will see cars lining up on the grid after a safety car period to restart the race.
It’s a controversial decisions with fans and drivers mainly against the proposal, but Whiting is confident it will improve races.
“Standing restart is something that I was involved in personally,” he said in an interview for the Russian Grand Prix. “I was talking to someone at McLaren and we came up with this idea how to make this show a bit better.
“When you watch a race, what is the most exciting part of the race? The start. So, why not have a second one? It makes sense.”
Addressing the issue of safety and being too artificial, Whiting recognised that the majority are against it, but said he personally couldn’t see a downside.
“Of course, it offends some people because it’s not pure racing. It’s been done for the show. Some people were even silly enough to say it’s dangerous. Well, if it’s dangerous, you wouldn’t even have the start of the race, would you?
“I understand why some people might think it’s too false as it’s not what normally happens. But why not? I can’t see any downside to it.
“It will provide more excitement; you seldom get any changes of position at a rolling restart, so this might provide an opportunity for changes. Some drivers may be worried of losing their lead, but then again other drivers might get a chance to gain something from it. I think it’s an interesting idea.
“It’s been approved. Now we’ve got to work on making it work.”
If you fancy winning a McLaren Technical Team T-shirt worth £39.95, enter our competition below. Simply fill out your details and predict who you think will win the Hungarian Grand Prix.
