David Coulthard suggests the FIA to be a little less cautious in its approach to rain-affected races.

It wasn't that long ago that one of the first things fans did ahead of a race weekend, especially at certain tracks, was to check the weather forecast.

News of rain, or, better still, changeable conditions, had fans salivating at the prospect of their heroes battling it out in atrocious conditions, proving, yet again - as though proof were required - that F1 drivers were not mere mortals.

Many of the most memorable races in the sport's long history were rain-affected, while, should you be unfortunate to get 'cornered' by a certain esteemed editor, he would bore you to tears with talk of Pedro Rodriguez in the Porsche 917 at Brands Hatch in 1970!

Now, however, at what seems to be the merest hint of a rain drop, officials begin humming and hawing over whether the start should be delayed, should it be held behind the Safety Car or even moved to another day.

David Coulthard, for whom the events of a soggy Spa in 1998 will forever be etched in his memory, feels that the FIA is sometimes too cautious in its approach to rain-affected races.

The Bahrain Grand Prix, held recently at Sepang (?!?) saw the first rain-affected session of the season, and unfortunately it was marred by the numerous incidents of 'outside interference' courtesy of the shiny, new remote control the regulations appear to have given the FIA (and future, potential purchasers of the sport).

However, last week's Sao Paulo Grand Prix was a dream, with not a single red flag, and no incidents of real note other than a couple of cases of overenthusiasm.

Coulthard believes that Interlagos was proof that while the Weather Gods might be out to have some fun, maybe wreak a little havoc, the FIA doesn't need to be so 'hands on'.

"The FIA ultimately have the call on whether the track is open or not," he tells the Up to Speed podcast. "They take a decision based on, I guess, some feedback from the drivers over time. And also applying previous knowledge from races where there was a lot of standing water and cars were aquaplaning off.

"So, I do get it," he continues. "I do get that in the same way an aircraft is not a boat unless it's a flying boat. Therefore, you've got to take the vehicle, the device, into the intended environment. But we definitely are a lot more health and safety-conscious. This is the modern world we live in.

"I don't want to see anyone getting hurt," he insists, echoing the words of all of us, especially those "niche" fans who lived through motor sport's dark days. "Of course not. But I do think sometimes we don't fully respect the history by racing on the side of caution. Rather than 'Let's give it a go!'

"Now, as I'm saying that, I realise the problem in my very statement, because if you give it a go and it goes wrong. Then the question is why did you allow that to happen? Where, if you like, if you go on the side of caution, you have people going, 'Well, why don't we see wet running anymore?'"