World champion Fernando Alonso has come out against plans to stage Formula One grand prix races at night.
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has spoken of wanting to include a number of night races on the F1 schedule as early as next season.
Some leading drivers have backed the moves to increase the sport’s spectacle, but Alonso is concerned about driver safety.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s season-opening Australian GP here, the Spaniard said he had some experience of racing at night at the McLaren team’s 2007 season launch.
”We launched the car in Valencia at night and it was extremely difficult to see the road,” Alonso told a press conference on Thursday.
”For me, it’s verd hard to believe that they will have strong enough lights to see okay to have a grand prix.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa said night racing could be tried as long as driver safety is ensured.
”The most important thing for a driver is to have great visibility as we have during the day,” Massa said.
”If it is possible, then why not? But we have to make sure everything is perfect and safe for us to race in the night.”
Australian driver Mark Webber has welcomed the concept of night racing, as long as proper testing of running cars in the dark was done.
”That is a brilliant idea,” Webber said this month. ”I think we should race at night. I think Bernie is talking brilliant sense. It would be great for the sport.
”There will have to be a balance between not having enough lighting and having too much lighting, because you don’t want it like daytime.
”There needs to be some testing done, though. We probably need to test a few things to work out what is sensible and what is not. We are a part of a show and we want to make it better.” – AFP
