New qualifying format...

[FoxHound]

Here's your grid if you take top 10 last year championship and apply your rule. Your task is to spot the difference.

Firstly, the point is we get cars out on track pushing to the last, trying to get as good a lap time after the "penalty" is added. Something that was missing today.
Secondly, all results were skewed today because there were 25% less laps this year compared to last, with a 10% bigger grid.

Disclaimer....percentages aren't exact, but ballpark. Currently mobile....

[gridwalker]

What an absolute farce. Over complicated and far too punishing for the drivers with most to lose. Whoever came up with this idea should be banned from making any suggestions ever again.

The way I would adjust qualifying is very simple :
1) Return to the previous format
2) Add a 0.01 second penalty to every driver's qualifying time for each championship point that they have earned in the current season.
3) Time penalties are added at the start of every qualifying session, increasing the chances that big names will fail to make it past each cut-off point (and these can be displayed on-screen so viewers know each driver's handicap).

This way there is still an incentive to qualify as fast as you can (unlike reverse grids), the penalties will affect dominant cars without being too punishing for low scorers, you start the season with the fastest drivers clearly at the front and they will become increasingly displaced as the championship progresses. Unlike success ballast, this proposal does not affect race performance, so the quickest cars still have a chance to come through to the front, however the fastest cars will also have to do proportionately more to avoid getting knocked out in Q1 or Q2. The additional chance of exposure during later qualifying sessions (and through higher grid placement) will also raise the value of sponsorship for smaller teams.

It may not instantly mix up qualifying, but I guarantee it will work its magic as the season moves on. The added benefit is that this system can still be retroactively applied for this season, as penalties would only start being applied from race 2 ...

[bauc]

Teams will have meeting tomorrow after the race to discuss qualifying changes back to the ''old'' format.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.ph ... ying-talks

[bhall II]

Firstly, the point is we get cars out on track pushing to the last, trying to get as good a lap time after the "penalty" is added.

I think a better idea might be to set starting positions on both ends of the grid after every qualifying lap. Something like this...

L1: Out of all 22 drivers, the fastest is awarded P1; the slowest is awarded P22.
L2: Out of the remaining 20 drivers, the fastest is awarded P2; the slowest is awarded P21.
L3: Out of the remaining 18 drivers, the fastest is awarded P3; the slowest is awarded P20

...and so on until the grid is set.

It would be a sort of sprint that lasts 11 laps with no shortage of action on-track. As a positive side effect, it would also offer more TV coverage for teams not in the lead pack. Either way, it would certainly be more sporting than a system that penalizes success.

[jericho]

You must have a format that is clear for all viewers. This was just pure crap!
The must exciting part of qualy should be at the end, what today happend was the opposite.

Go back to old format!!

[i70q7m7ghw]

Here's a simple idea if you want more cars on track for the entire qualifying session.

Add a 4th session. 3 Sessions where each time 4 cars are knocked out until it's left to the 4th top 10 shoot out session. If you wanted to make it even busier, split the last session in to two more. Also, keep the track open the entire time, so if someone want's to just stay out, they can, fuel permitting.

[Redragon]

If you want to do a qualy based on who is the fastest and everyone is running at all time. Why not to do a 5 slots of 5 min where you have 2 laps for the drivers to do their best on each. After 1st slot eliminate 5 drivers, second another 5, third another 4, fourth slot another 4 and final or fifth slot leave it for best 4 drivers left. IMO what doesn't work on both qualy systems, last years and this years is the time we have to wait to end sesion or drivers to be eliminated.

[mika vs michael]

We told you it's going to be a lame q system...and it indeed is...
qualifying means low fuel run on the softest rubber...

[Just_a_fan]

The ridiculous system today meant that a driver could be on the fastest ever lap of the circuit and he loses out because the count down gets him before the line. At least let them finish their lap!

However, qualifying is about finding out who is quickest and putting them at the front of the grid with everyone in their pace order. Qualifying isn't "entertainment", it's administration.

If the aim of the FIA, on behalf of Bernie, is to make Sunday exciting by mixing up the grid, then just draw names out of a hat on Saturday morning. Make the weekend just Saturday and Sunday with Saturday just three FP sessions. Costs cut straightaway too.

If the aim is to run the premiere racing series in the world, quit the crap and have qualifying that just finds each driver's fastest lap. One hour free for all, fastest lap in the hour is your grid slot. Sure, some sessions will be quiet for a while but there will excitement in the session too. And it's fair for all. Or just go back to last year's system where the final minutes were usually busy. Today qualifying was over with 3 minutes still to run!

If you want a full hour of qualifying, make the grid based on each driver's average lap time in qualifying. They must run a minimum of e.g. 10-15 laps in the hour (depending on circuit length) or they get sent to the back. Everyone would be jockeying for position etc. You'd need to set a minimum number of laps otherwise the drivers would just do one banzai lap and park up as their average would be that lap time. It's still likely to be a cludge though.

[i70q7m7ghw]

Also, the radio ban has hurt the fans too, now we never hear any team radio, because there isn't any!!

[Just_a_fan]

There's still plenty of radio, of course, but FOM need to broadcast it. They're not too good at broadcasting what the fans want...

[Sasha]

If you wanted all the cars on the track the whole session,then make every session only 5 minutes(you got only two hot laps to set your time).

That was the worse Qual I ever seen and I feel sorry for the fans who was in the stands(boring!!!!)

[FoxHound]

h ends of the grid after every qualifying lap. Something like this...

L1: Out of all 22 drivers, the fastest is awarded P1; the slowest is awarded P22.
L2: Out of the remaining 20 drivers, the fastest is awarded P2; the slowest is awarded P21.
L3: Out of the remaining 18 drivers, the fastest is awarded P3; the slowest is awarded P20

...and so on until the grid is set.

It would be a sort of sprint that lasts 11 laps with no shortage of action on-track. As a positive side effect, it would also offer more TV coverage for teams not in the lead pack. Either way, it would certainly be more sporting than a system that penalizes success.

Sure, that would work and would certainly be a better show than today's travesty.

The penalising of success thing is only half true in my view. As incrementally with "my" system, the opposition are penalised too.
It brings the field closer together during the first couple of race phases, over the last 6 seasons that has to be a good thing.

[cooken]

While Nico and Lewis were out setting their laps, the broadcast was stuck in pitlane focused on stationary Ferraris. Only reverted back to actual track action for sector 3. I mean, even if you fix the qualy format, they need to do a waaay better job capturing on track action.

[Gridlock]

Merc's strategy, from World Feed;