Gary Anderson: A fan's view of F1

Not attending the Singapore Grand Prix gave me the opportunity to look at a Formula 1 weekend from a different perspective.

I was just one of the millions of television viewers worldwide, rather than one of the few on the inside looking out and, I have to say, I wasn't impressed by what I saw. But not for the reasons you might think.

I remember Bernie Ecclestone talking with Eddie Jordan and saying: "Jordan, you know everything that's wrong but nothing that's right." That comment has stuck with me for many years.

There are always people moaning about things, but I have always believed that as long as you offer a solution, then it's right to complain. That's how anything improves.

QUALIFYING

On Saturday, Lewis Hamilton was on pole position by just seven thousandths of a second ahead of Nico Rosberg. On paper, it should have been a real nail-biter, but because of where they were on the track relative to each other, and the number of cars on circuit, all on quick laps, we didn't get to see either part of their battle properly.

The excitement came largely in how close it was, but we couldn't see the full story of why it was so tight between the two.

This is the key part of the action, what any motor-racing fan, of which I am one, wants to see.

The pole battle was ultra-close, but the current format didn't maximise it © LAT

When 10 cars are on track together at the climax of Q3, it's impossible for the director to catch everything. So what can be done?

Run Q1 and Q2 as is, but a little shorter. Then roll back the years and run the final 10 cars on their own. So tenth fastest in Q2 goes first, then ninth and so on.

Release the cars in such a way that the gap between one car finishing its lap and the next beginning is minimised, and you could even fit in two runs. If anyone misses their slot, the next has to be ready to go to minimise delays.

This way we'll see all of the top 10 do their complete qualifying laps and everyone involved will get their few minutes of airtime.

This will all take longer than the current Q3, but I'm sure it could all be fitted into a viewer-friendly time slot. After all, we don't see a lot of cars having to rush out when the green light goes on at the pit exit. So time can be saved earlier on.

THE RACE

Moving on to the race, Rosberg having his problem before the start meant that any real potential for a proper battle at the front was eliminated.

For me, the first couple of laps were exciting, but Hamilton was well on his way. As long as he kept his nose clean, the 25 points were his.

After that, there was a lull that lasted until the safety car came in. But as soon as that happened, we had just one car racing in the top 10.

Those behind him were in a different formula, limping two or three seconds slower thanks to having to nurse their tyres in an attempt to go to the end of the race without stopping again.

Rosberg's problem robbed fans of a possible thrilling fight for victory © LAT

Take nothing away from Hamilton - he drove fantastically for the whole race and especially the last 22 laps, when he did everything that was required of him as a professional driver.

But as a two-hour event, a big percentage of it was like watching paint dry.

THE SAFETY CAR

Going back to the safety car, it was out for seven laps to allow marshals to clear up some front-wing debris. I've seen council workers doing a much better job than that.

Seven laps - more than 10 per cent of the race distance - for something that should take two laps maximum? Not good enough.

It robbed us of someone potentially doing something aggressive strategy-wise that might have mixed things up a lot more. Ridiculous. I was pleased to hear that Martin Brundle thought the same.

Could someone please wake up and just do away with this rule about the lapped cars unlapping themselves? If a car has been lapped by the leader, simply let them drop back to the rear of the field.

This would ensure all the lead-lap drivers would be running nose-to-tail and the lapped drivers would be behind them with their own battle to fight.

TOO MUCH TALK RADIO

We have had a couple of weeks of debating this radio ban. So what happened to it?

Sitting at home watching the TV and listening to the radio communications confused me, and doubtless many millions of others.

One example of this was Sebastian Vettel's engineer telling him to save tyres and fuel, then later to ignore the gearchange beep and open the gap to Alonso.

Surely that information is assisting the driver, who is supposed to drive the car alone and unaided? The FIA seemed to be happy with this, which raises questions about the way this new rule is being implemented.

Radio clampdown didn't change much in Singapore © LAT

I believe that a gearchange beep is wrong anyway. The FIA says it's the same as a rev counter. No, you have to look at a rev counter. A beep means you don't have to take your eyes off the road.

PENALTIES

There are circumstances when a five-second penalty added to a driver's race time is not enough. Jean-Eric Vergne showed us that if you are struggling to pass a car, it's better to drive off the road and overtake them, then get your head down and open up the five-second gap.

It's vital that the scale of a penalty outweighs the potential gain from the rules infringement, otherwise you can choose to take the time-hit but come out of the situation with a net gain.

Everyone seems to be saying F1 needs fixing and, yes, a lot needs to be done to make it more affordable. But that is another debate.

No one is doing anything about what the viewer sees. Just look at what we witnessed this past weekend and put in place small fixes to these problems. That way, in a very short time F1 will cement its place as the pinnacle of motorsport.

There's a lot that is good about F1. All I want to see, as someone who has spent most of his life in motorsport, is good racing.

Sometimes it's not about the big changes, but just making small fixes that ensure the expected storylines play out and are able to be seen and enjoyed by the fans.