Daniel Ricciardo wants F1 virtual safety car rules cleared up

The Red Bull driver was running third, after pole-sitter Rosberg fell back at the start, but when the first virtual safety car period of the US Grand Prix ended, Rosberg managed to nip back in front.

Ricciardo insisted he did not get a warning to say the period was ending and he was surprised at how quickly Rosberg appeared to close the gap.

"VSC, you should keep the gap, and Rosberg wasn't right up our arse, he was a few seconds behind," said Ricciardo, who finished 10th having led at one stage.

"So then when I saw him already close on us under virtual safety car, I was thinking, 'surely he'll back off again'.

"Then he passed me, and then it was green flag apparently.

"I don't know what happened there. I was following suit, basically.

"I think we're going to talk about the virtual safety car in general because it wasn't clear when it was green.

Ricciardo believes the use of the VSC last weekend was particularly messy.

"You drive around, you follow this time, and then you actually have to look for the boards," he said.

"It was a bit confusing, I don't know why. On Sunday it was more confusing than it has been in previous races.

"Normally we get a message, I thought, saying 'VSC ending' and a 10-second warning. But there was no warning at all.

"I don't know if Rosberg just caught all of us out, but I was more confused how he was so close to us."