F1 needs to just get on with it in the wet

Brazil was one of those races that seemed to have no end, taking just over three hours to complete with two red flags and five safety cars. This was a self-inflicted wound for Formula 1.

It's hardly new for it to rain on race day, but the powers that be seem to be far less accepting of such conditions, and the challenge they present to drivers, than they were in the past.

Understanding what was going on and getting truly involved in the race was made almost impossible by the stop/start nature of proceedings.

So I can completely understand why the fans at the track got a bit upset as they had even less idea of what was going on than the viewers at home had. Even with all the available information, I was a bit lost in it all.

In these situations once again tyre information is all important, because somebody might get the upper hand and do something exceptional. Throughout the race there were people switching between wets and intermediates, so it was essential to keep track of them.

FOM has never understood how much clear tyre information can add to the show. So the first thing incoming owner Liberty Media needs to do is make changes to this so the viewing public has the information it needs. That's a quick and easy win, as even the television commentators didn't seem to have a clue, or if they did they didn't communicate it to the viewer.

There have been many very wet races over the years. Fuji 1976 and 2007, Silverstone 1978 (the non-championship BRDC International Trophy), Donington Park '93 and Spain '96 spring to mind, and there are plenty of others.

All featured poor visibility and difficult track conditions - just as we saw at Interlagos on Sunday, and in some cases worse, but the races went off with the minimum of disruption.

At Fuji four decades ago the start was delayed but the race was allowed to progress once under way. It was so wet that Niki Lauda pulled in and retired. And he was chasing the world championship. Not that anyone could blame him given he had only recently returned to racing following his horrific crash at the Nurburgring. But this does show that the individual has the power to make the call on whether or not to participate.

At Silverstone in 1978, nearly everyone seemed to crash or spin at some time during the race, but still the guys with the exceptional talent in those conditions shone through. It was the same at Donington, where Ayrton Senna dominated, and in Brazil 13 years ago when Giancarlo Fisichella won in a Jordan that was far from one of our best.

'Fish' won there because he had the talent to stay on the track and get to the end when many of those around him ended up in the wall or knee-deep in mud.

There are many very fast drivers out there today, but car control and talent really does stand out when the rain comes down. It allows the great drivers to excel. On Sunday, there were only really two drivers in the race: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Others performed well, such as Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz Jr and Felipe Nasr, but those two were truly exceptional.

So what makes a driver fast in the wet? It's all about feel for the car, and knowing what it is going to do before it does it. Hamilton has those abilities in abundance, which is why he said it was one of his easier wins.

Being up front, and out of the spray, helped him to focus on conditions but credit where it was due, he put himself in that position and didn't put a foot wrong.

Whether you like Hamilton or not, you have to have a huge amount of respect for him. He is one of the greats of his era and to win in Brazil, emulating his hero Senna, was something special. It's high up on his long list of 52 victories, I'm sure.

As for Verstappen, he just did what he does best. He attacked from the first corner of the first green flag lap to the last corner of the last lap and used every conceivable racing line possible. By doing that, he discovered that, if needed, there was more grip around the outside of some of the corners.

In the past, the outside line has always been 'the wet line' as there was always a lot more grip out there because there was less oil and rubber on the surface. But lately drivers seem reluctant to try these things. Presumably, they would rather complain about the handling over the radio than experiment and find a solution.

Well done Max - keep doing what you are doing!

As for the race organisation, it probably goes down as the worst I've seen; the left and the right hand didn't seem to be communicating.

I accept it is difficult because the feedback was coming from drivers who had vested interests either in the race running or stopping, but when many were calling for the race to get going why did race control keep the safety car out or use the red flag?

The only thing missing was a motorway-style variable speed limit. If you had that you could tailor it to the places where flooding was a problem and elsewhere the drivers could be free to race. That's a joke, by the way - but with the way F1 is perhaps it isn't...

The FIA should take the advice of drivers. Perhaps five drivers should be nominated to give feedback about the conditions - drawn out of a hat each weekend. Ensure one of them is a world champion, of which there are five, and you would have clear feedback and you should avoid having to hear from so many vested interests.

We have seen so many occasions when the safety car leads the drivers around for the early laps, which serves to make the drivers' lives more difficult because they lose tyre and brake temperature.

Why not make them run in single file at a pace the leader is comfortable with? You could set a limit so they don't go at racing speeds.

They could create a new flag colour to use during this period, which means no overtaking and stay together. And when the nominated drivers agreed that conditions were acceptable, the FIA would give one lap's notice by changing the flag to a stationary yellow at the start line and then green again next time around.

Any problems when running during these conditions would be identified by waved yellows.

At this pace, the drivers could keep everything nearer to racing conditions and get a better reading on track conditions and spray level, preparing themselves much better for a restart. And at least the paying public would get a little entertainment.

Can you imagine a day at Wimbledon where the organisers spent all day opening and shutting the roof every time the sun came out out or if there was a spot of rain? To me, that is what happened in Brazil. No one took the race by the scruff of the neck and let it happen.

The last thing I want to see is anyone getting hurt. But over the years these cars have got safer and safer and the run-off areas and impact-absorbing barriers have been developed to a level that makes injuries fairly uncommon. Also, in the wet the cars are not going as fast as they would be in the dry so any impact will be at much lower energy levels.

We are supposed to have the 22 best drivers in the world driving in F1, so why not just let them get on with it. There are two pedals in the car, one makes it go faster and the other makes it go slower - the driver has the choice of which one to press and how hard.

Aquaplaning has been around as long as there has been wet weather. I'm sure most of us have had that motorway moment that requires a stop at the next services to use its facilities.

It happens very quickly and can definitely catch you out if you are not paying attention. In a road car, it is the tyre not being able to cope with the amount of water on the road and it just rides up on top of the water.

Racing cars are obviously much more on the limit than any of us should be on the motorway and the aquaplaning can come from the car being too low to the ground or from the tyre not being able to cope with the amount of water on the track.

But they do have very sophisticated systems to help with being driven at the limit and after all, these drivers are doing their everyday job and fully focused on driving on the limit.

That's what they get paid for and that's why people pay to watch.