Nick Heidfeld has hit out at the 'stupid' rule that says drivers may not re-fuel in the first few laps of a safety car period in Formula 1 – a rule that cost him a top five finish in last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, and with it second position in the drivers' world championship.

The BMW-Sauber star was running in seventh place in the early stages of the race in Barcelona after enduring a difficult qualifying session, and he would have moved up to fifth at least following the retirements of Heikki Kovalainen and Fernando Alonso, had he not been handed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty that ruined his race and left him down in ninth spot at the chequered flag – agonisingly just 3.6 seconds shy of the points.

The regulations stipulate that the pit-lane is closed for the first few laps of any safety car period, designed to prevent drivers from sprinting back to the pits at full speed in potentially dangerous situations. That, however, presents drivers who are running low on fuel with just two possibilities – pit illegally under the red light and take the penalty, or run out.

"My engineer told me to pit but I had just passed the pit entry," ITV-F1 quotes Heidfeld as having written on his personal website, alluding to BMW having tried to pre-empt the safety car by calling him in to re-fuel as soon as the team saw Kovalainen's car in the turn nine tyre wall.

"I then tried to save fuel and delay my pit-stop, but in the end it was the choice between running out of fuel on the track or getting a stop-and-go penalty. That was bad luck and it ruined my race.

"I have always thought that this rule was stupid. For weeks we have talked and tried to find a better solution.

"Luck or bad luck should not play a role in Formula 1, but right now this rule exists and therefore it was logical that I had to serve a stop-and-go penalty."

Rubens Barrichello would likely be able to empathise with Heidfeld, having lost three points for a similar transgression during the season curtain-raiser in Melbourne. Whilst there are fears the regulations could affect even more drivers in Monaco and Montreal – both races that have traditionally seen a high number of safety car periods – Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has said there is little hope of any change to the controversial rule between now and the end of the current campaign [see separate story – click here].