Rosberg Slams Twilight F1 Race Schedules

Williams' Nico Rosberg has slammed the trend of conducting Grands Prix under twilight conditions, declaring them dangerous.

As in Melbourne, the Malaysian race is scheduled to start at 5:00pm local time to maximise viewing audiences in Europe.

But after drivers struggled with glare and shadows as the Albert Park event neared its conclusion on Sunday, the prospect of again competing under twilight conditions has Rosberg worried about driver safety.

The German told Reuters:

"If the monsoon comes down, the race is going to have to be stopped because we can't race and drive with that amount of water.

"I think twilight racing is not the way to go. In Melbourne it was obvious that it just increases the danger so much.

"The visibility is so difficult, you can't even see the edges of the track in some corners. I was driving into the sun and that's not what racing is about. So I really hope they reconsider that.

"Even moving it forward by one hour or something will help us massively. It was just the last part of the race that was the really problematic time."

Rosberg is not the first driver to express frustration over the issue, with Jenson Button another critic, but the outcry is far from unanimous among members of the F1 paddock

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen seemed perplexed by suggestions drivers would struggle with the twilight conditions in the lead up to the Australian Grand Prix.

Speaking to the media at Shell's annual Melbourne press conference, he said:

"I don't know why people are making so much fuss about this. We have raced at night under lights in Singapore and during the winter, we often continue testing while it is getting dark at the end of the afternoon.

“I don't think it will be very dark at the end of the race, so I'm not worried about it all.”

Trust Kimi to completely miss the point; although following his showing on Sunday, his opinion may now have changed.