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Formula E's red flag rule changed explained by team bosses

ABB FIA Formula E's red flag rule change is intended to ensure interrupted races remain energy efficiency tests and to make things simpler, according to Mark Preston and James Barclay

Last weekend's race in Rome was the first race this season in which the race time counter was stopped during a red flag.

The three races since Mexico City have featured a red flag despite FE getting through a previous 48 events with just a single red flag stoppage.

The clock was originally left to run down and the time was then added back on before the Rome change and teams such as Nissan e.dams were caught out by the old system.

The previous approach led to criticism from the drivers, who argue that the flat-out racing caused by event interruptions contributed to the high levels of contact seen in the first half of the 2018/19 season.

"[It's] just easier than everybody trying to add time, waiting for the race director to calculate the new time and tell us the new end time," DS Techeetah team principal Preston told Autosport.

"It's quicker for everybody just to say 'the clock stops, it'll start again once we get going'.

"It's just quicker and cleaner and easier to deal with than the race director having to add time and stuff like that in the race."

Jaguar boss Barclay, who is also chairman of the Formula E Teams and Manufacturers Association (FETAMA), explained that "there's generally been a consensus that the better thing is to stop the clock from the racing's point of view".

"Because what we were having was purely flat-out racing as well when the clock keeps ticking," he continued to Autosport.

"It was also making very short races when you look at just the number of race laps. "So that was one of the fundamental drivers and everyone was supportive of the red flag [rule change] - particularly Formula E, the FIA, and the teams.

"It's a very logical decision to make and what it does mean [is that] when a race restarts you have a proper race and I think that showed [in Rome, where Jaguar driver Mitch Evans triumphed].

"We had a race where you had to be a little bit cautious [with energy] at the start, and meant we had a real motor race."

Reigning FE drivers' champion Jean-Eric Vergne has been among the most vocal critics of the previous rules allowing the clock to continue during red flags.

When asked by Autosport if he was pleased by the changes he said: "Yeah, [but] they have to do the same for safety car [periods] and full course yellow."

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