Coulthard regrets lack of Friday action

Concerns about the ability of engines to last two Grand Prix weekends, and the seven set limit of tyres, has resulted in drivers only being allowed to run a handful of laps on the first day of action.

This course of action is not only disappointing for fans who buy tickets on the Fridays, but is frustrating for drivers - who are forced to watch some team's third cars lap all day.

Speaking in a pre-race press conference at the Malaysian Grand Prix, Coulthard said the time had come to consider ways of opening up action on Fridays.

"I think the thing that is confusing with the third car thing is that they run seven sets of tyres and they can run maximum rpm so they don't have the same restrictions," said Coulthard.

"Our restriction on engine mileage (in Bahrain) was that we had 11 laps available on Friday and 17 on Saturday before going into qualifying. It is a consequence of the regulations of having to use an engine for two race weekends and where Ferrari are with their reliability.

"Now, I accept that if they did a better job then we could run more miles, but what I am trying to highlight is that the regulations, as they stand, restrict track time and the whole point of somebody coming to a Grand Prix weekend is to obviously see the cars out there and to give us the time to set up the cars.

"I think within the regulation changes that are there, there are others that can be done to further enhance the show and make it better for everyone rather than giving away an advantage."

Team boss Frank Williams suggested in Bahrain last weekend that concerns about the lack of action on Friday could ultimately act as a catalyst to turn Grands Prix into two-day events.