Fernando Alonso has no doubt made and lost many friends since making his Formula 1 debut in 2001. But his idea to solve the problem of poor visibility in wet conditions will likely move F1’s race promoters to strike him off their Christmas card lists.
Last weekend in Spa, an 80-minute race suspension followed by four laps behind the safety car prompted several competitors to complain that race control was being too conservative. Those who had taken the risk of shifting to a higher-downforce set-up for better performance in wet conditions were most annoyed, since the track was already drying in several places when the race was finally green-flagged.
