Formula One needs a radical shake-up to make it more exciting, according to Renault chief Flavio Briatore.

"The races are too long and predictable," he told Italian radio, adding that one way to make the sport more exciting would be to put the fastest drivers at the back of the staring grid.

"They would be able to overtake and the spectacle would benefit."

Briatore also compared the sport to Italy's beleaguered Sanremo Song Festival with the 2008 edition registering some of the worst audience figures in its 57 years last week.

"Formula One is like the Sanremo Song Festival. It is necessary to change."

The 2008 Formula One championship starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16.