Time Change: Malaysia Considers It, Russia Does It
The Malaysian Grand Prix could start an hour earlier in 2015 in order to follow the FIA's recommendation to prevent races from ending at dusk when visibility is no longer as good. Russia, for its part, has decided to move its race start time forward by an hour.
While the organizers of the Australian Grand Prix do not want to change the start time of their race, their Malaysian counterparts have expressed willingness to follow the recommendation of the panel of experts formed to study Jules Bianchi’s accident in Japan.
The Malaysian Grand Prix currently begins at 4 p.m. local time, but a return to a scheduled start at 3 p.m. is in the pipeline, according to Razlan Razali, the head of the Sepang circuit, as he told Reuters: « Mr. Ecclestone mentioned that because of the Suzuka incident, the FIA has time limits. So he is considering returning to the original starting time, maybe as early as this year. For us, it’s good. It’s a safer time window… so people can come, eat, then watch the race, and by 5 p.m. they can head home. He [Ecclestone] mentioned the possibility [of bringing the start time forward]. We said that if he wanted to return to 3 p.m., we fully supported it. »
Advancing the start time of the Malaysian leg makes even more sense as the race is also under threat from tropical showers during the time of year when F1 visits. This notably forced race officials to prematurely end the race in 2009, where only half the points were then awarded.
Razali, who was in London this week to discuss with Bernie Ecclestone, also stated that the Malaysian race switching to nighttime is not currently on the agenda: « It’s a danger to force us to do it. In the past, he [Ecclestone] pushed for it, but now I think it’s the first time he listened to what we wanted as a promoter. For now [we don’t want it]. Each circuit has its own identity, the danger is in copying someone else. »
Besides Malaysia, which is considering it, Russia has already made arrangements to move the race schedule forward following FIA recommendations. The second edition of the Russian Grand Prix will therefore start one hour earlier than the first one held in 2014 on the Sochi track.
« This year, the Grand Prix will start at 2 PM [local time]. We will have an opportunity to see a fascinating Formula 1 race a day and an hour earlier than last year, » said Sergey Vorobyev, the race promoter, as quoted by GPUpdate.
