The matter was discussed in Friday’s drivers’ briefing in Miami as part of the ongoing fallout over the chaotic final restart in Melbourne, when there were several accidents.
Many drivers feel that marbles on the grid in the closing laps create a disparity between the two sides of the grid, generating extra potential for incidents at the first corner.
One of the issues is that in Melbourne the grid wasn’t swept while the cars were waiting in the pitlane for the race resumption, which is a procedure originally voiced by former F1 race director Charlie Whiting from the earliest discussions about a move to grid restarts.
It’s understood that the FIA has now promised to ensure that the grid will be swept during future red flag delays.
Nevertheless, drivers are still not keen on having grid restarts late in races.
“I think we've all come to a good understanding,” said GPDA director George Russell when asked about the issue by Autosport.
“I think having a restart at the end of the race is challenging because there's a lot of marbles off-line.
“It gives quite an unfair chance for the guys on the inside on the dirty line, and the opportunity for more chaos and unfairness.
“So let's see where we move to. But I think all 20 drivers wouldn't like standing starts after a red flag with either 50 or 75% of the race completed.”
Source: Autosport