How to relieve Formula 1’s extreme wet-weather caution

With three Formula 1 races having been disrupted by rain so far this season, the series has been made to look excessively cautious in the way it dealt with wet conditions. But what can be done to alleviate disruption like that which was seen in Suzuka?

An unwelcome hat-trick for Formula 1 in 2022 was completed last weekend. The Japanese Grand Prix adds to the races in Monaco and Singapore where this season alone, the pinnacle of motorsport has been made to look flat-footed and excessively cautious in the way it dealt with wet weather.

Where previously a cloud burst presented a chance for drivers to deliver a hallowed virtuoso performance in a dramatic and unpredictable bout, now it seems there’s a greater chance of a delayed start, safety cars and red flags. Or perhaps no race at all.

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.