Niki Lauda: "Formula 1 is over-regulated"

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda has criticised Formula 1 bosses following a lengthy stoppage at this afternoon's British Grand Prix.

A crash on the opening lap between Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa in the Williams resulted in the former of those two crashing into the barriers, which suffered significant damage.

The race did not restart until the repairs were carried out on safety grounds, which meant that the action was stopped for an hour.

When asked for his view on the situation, Lauda told BBC Sport: "Formula 1 is over-regulated. It's all crazy. To stop the race for one hour because one of the barriers is damaged is ridiculous. They are never going to hit it again.

"The chances of it happening again are zero. They take care of every little detail and a lot of people will switch the television off."

Sports Mole's live text coverage from Silverstone can be followed here.