Bonkers New Elimination-Style Qualifying Format Set To Be Introduced In F1
Formula 1 teams have made a unanimous agreement to radically shake-up the qualifying format, with a new elimination-style system set to debut as early as this year.
F1 bosses and teams met in Geneva for meetings of the Strategy Group and F1 Commission, to try and agree to possible rule changes for the up-coming seasons. The new qualifying system is one of those that has been voted through.
Many feel there wasn’t really much wrong with the current qualifying system, with the slowest drivers from two sessions being eliminated before the top 10 battle for pole position. So, of course, F1 has decided to change one of the things actually right with the sport and instead of going for something like one-lap qualifying, it has been agreed that a knock-out elimination format will be used.
Qualifying will remain one hour long and with three sessions, but following early stints drivers will start to be eliminated every 90 seconds. Here’s how the sessions will work, according to the rules agreed to by F1 teams and bosses, and reported by Motorsport.com:
- Q1 - This will last 16 minutes and after seven minutes, the slowest driver will be knocked out of qualifying. Every 90 seconds until the chequered flag the slowest driver will be eliminated, with seven occupying the spots at the back of the grid and 15 progressing.
- Q2 - With a duration of 15 minutes, the slowest driver will be eliminated after six minutes, which is when the 90-second cycle will begin until there are just eight drivers remaining. These will move on to the final session.
- Q3 - Lasting 14 minutes, the slowest driver will drop out after five minutes and that is when the 90-second knock-out system will begin once again. Two drivers will be left in the final section and will battle it out for pole position.
While the format will mean drivers are constantly out on track, it will throw up numerous problems – like if the slowest driver goes faster just as the 90 seconds is up, or if there is a red flag – and the whole thing could be seen as a contrived way of spicing up the show.
Durable tyres will be needed for the constant running and cars will need to be packed full of fuel to last, if no pit stops are allowed. Grids will likely be more mixed up but it is a much more confusing system and answers a question that no one really asked.
Undoubtedly the worst thing about the qualifying change discussions is the potential addition of time ballast, where extra time will be added to each drivers’ qualifying lap on the basis of championship position, with a sliding scale. But this is thought to have not had as much support.
The elimination-style qualifying format hasn’t been completely finalised as it still needs ratification from the World Motor Sport Council, which next meets on the 4 March. What do you think? Is it good for F1, will they fail to get the full potential from it, or is it a rubbish idea? Let us know!
Comments
Its nice to see something changing and the fact it might be in this season is great means we won’t have to wait until 2017 for everything!
Be nice to see a change in the sport I think it might work out
don’t really see how this is going to make f1 any better
Well it would add a little bit more excitement into the qualfying sessions because instead of Q1 and Q2 being absolutely pointless from a spectator point of view it would make it worth watching because every 90 seconds a few drivers are having to really push to get higher up the grid as opposed to just leaving it until the last few minutes to bang in a flying lap,
Well, this isn’t nearly as bad as I thought from the title. I thought it was going to be 1vs1 elimination, which would be worst idea ever imo. I’m not sure what to say about this one, will have to wait and see it in action
At some point we will hopefully go back to racing. No mixed up computergame style quali, no hd tyres, no drs, no unnecessary limitations. Just racing, that would be something.
Like Formula1 in back 2006
I think the sport has evolved. Not in a good way, But it has evolved. F1 will always be what it has always been: an open window on future technologies. When you think about it, every single new tech that cars have gotten thru time were introduced in F1. The sport needs evolution to stay alive, just like any other form of life. If you stop evolving you die. I agree with you tho. The sport needs to go back to pure racing, pure adrenaline and skill. And start evolving again.
If they need more show why not give them wider tyres and twice the power but without the stupid energy systems and DRS.
Cause then we would have more deaths, more crashes and the field would be even more spread out.
There was a meeting at some point and I’m sure someone did this:
Could be ineteresting, but there are FAR better ways to spice up the show
How to make it more exciting: remove the regulations on the cars.
That’s a rubbish idea. Just look at WEC, great battles between Porsche and Audi sure, but the rest of the field is a few laps back. And eventually Porsche will pull away. All this does is screw over the teams with a lower budget, and make the cars too powerful for even these drivers to handle.
Rethink your idea.. You have a couple of teams with basically unlimited budgets to design a car which can go around a lap in the smallest amount of time and have no restrictions? a few thousand HP, ground effect, 400mm tires… It’d be easier just to give drivers guns and shoot themselves in the head since the are all gonna die anyway because the G forces and sheer speed. I don’t know about you, but this sound stupid to me..
I think with 22 laps we would be settled. Last driver every lap is disqualified.
So they can change the whole Quali system in one month, but it takes a whole year to get rid of the token regulations?
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