Zoom Night races won't look as good everywhere, says Sauber

Peter Sauber has urged caution at the advent of the night racing era in Formula One.

In the wake of the widely acclaimed Singapore Grand Prix, the first F1 race in history to be staged after sunset under floodlights, Bernie Ecclestone admitted he has set his sights on adding more night races to the future calendar.

"I would urge caution on this," Sauber, team founder and now a small shareholder and consultant of the BMW Sauber squad, wrote in his column for the Swiss newspaper Blick.

The 64-year-old said the floodlit Singapore Grand Prix, amid the backdrop of the city-state's striking skyline, made aesthetic sense as well as providing a better live broadcast time for European viewers.

"But there are also tracks that would (at night) seem like no-man's land and look like a computer game. That was the impression I got from the pictures I saw of the MotoGP in Qatar," he added.

Living up to the unique Singapore atmosphere is not Sauber's only concern for future F1 night race hosts.

"An important question remains even after Singapore: what effect will the artificial light have when it rains? Change in F1 is definitely good, but we should not get carried away."

"In my opinion, a maximum of two night races per season would be enough," Sauber concluded.

D.B. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM