FIA race director Charlie Whiting says the idea to introduce standing restarts following safety car periods came from himself and McLaren.

Standing restarts will be introduced from 2015 onwards after the proposal was approved by the World Motor Sport Council [WMSC]. While Daniel Ricciardo indicated that many drivers were against the idea, Whiting has revealed that he personally helped instigate the new regulation after discussing it with McLaren.

"Standing restart is something that I was involved in personally," Whiting said in an interview with the Russian Grand Prix website. "I was talking to someone at McLaren and we came up with this idea how to make this show a bit better. When you watch a race, what is the most exciting part of the race? The start. So, why not have a second one? It makes sense."

Whiting added that he understands why some people are against the idea but believes the benefits of added excitement outweigh any concerns.

"Of course, it offends some people because it's not pure racing. It's been done for the show. Some people were even silly enough to say it's dangerous. Well, if it's dangerous, you wouldn't even have the start of the race, would you? I understand why some people might think it's too false as it's not what normally happens. But why not? I can't see any downside to it.

"It will provide more excitement; you seldom get any changes of position at a rolling restart, so this might provide an opportunity for changes in position. Some drivers may be worried of losing their lead, but then again other drivers might get a chance to gain something from it. I think it's an interesting idea. It's been approved. Now we've got to work on making it work."