Whiting unconcerned by new F1 standing restarts

FIA race director Charlie Whiting is unconcerned by Formula 1's new restart procedure following red flags despite a complaint from Romain Grosjean following the first trials during pre-season testing in Barcelona earlier this month.

In a revised sporting regulation for the 2018 season, Whiting will be able to call for a standing restart following a red flag period in a race if conditions are deemed suitable, with the cars returning to the track behind the safety car after the stoppage.

The new format was trialled through the second pre-season test week, with Grosjean predicting there would be "carnage" as drivers would not be able to work enough heat into their tyres.

Grosjean said at the time he would discuss the issue with his fellow GPDA members, but Whiting does not feel there is any major issue coming from the new restart format.

"No driver has spoken to me about it. It seems a bit of an odd comment to me because they all put new tyres on whenever there is a red flag," Whiting told select media including Crash.net in London on Tuesday.

"I’m not too concerned about that. I think the grip was quite low in Barcelona anyway. They didn’t put new tyres on, did they? Because it was a quick procedure.

"I’m not overly concerned about that."

As per the updated regulation for 2018: "Once the safety car has entered the pit lane all cars, with the exception of those that were in their garage at the time the race was suspended, must return to the grid, take up their grid positions and follow the procedures set out in Article 36.9 to 36.13." The cited articles relating to the usual start procedure after a formation lap.