New Formula 1 Qualifying Rules!

Skeeter

Skeeter

Skeeter

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Formula 1 bosses have voted unanimously to deliver a dramatic overhaul of the qualifying format for the upcoming season.

Following a meeting of the Strategy Group and F1 Commission in Geneva, the format change has been voted through to spice up the show.

Qualifying will remain as a one-hour session, split into three segments, but drivers must be on track throughout each part until they get knocked out.

Details on how the new qualifying format will work exactly have yet to be decided, but the general outline has been agreed.

Q1 will now last 16 minutes and after seven minutes the slowest driver will take no further part in the session.

Every 90 seconds thereafter, the slowest will be knocked out until there are only 15 drivers remaining.

After a short break, Q2 will commence and last 15 minutes with the slowest driver eliminated after six minutes.

As was the case in Q1, the slowest driver at the time will be knocked out at 90-second intervals until eight remain.

Q3 will last 14 minutes and see the process repeated again with the slowest taking no further part after five minutes.

The next five drivers will drop out at 90-second intervals leaving the final two drivers to fight it out for pole in the final 90 seconds.

The change will require ratification by the World Motor Sport Council, which next meets on March 4.
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http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122937

What the hell! Coupled with the ridiculous tyre rules, this just makes a massive complicated mess of stupidity!
 
Also makes wet/drying tracks even more of a lotto.

Also some tracks are more than 1:30 so everyone will want to be on the same exact lap.
 
I can't even get my head around how stupid this is.

Its clearly designed to force everyone to be on the track for the whole session, but it just sounds stupid.

Are they going to allocate more tyres? Its going to be ~45 minutes of flat out, so do they get more engine allocations per season? What if it rains? What about traffic and people blocking you? 17 minutes flat out on some tracks on soft tyres will mean a pit stop, in qualifying? You might decide that you don't want to use the softed tyre as your going to need to be fast at the end of a 14 minute session, but the rules force you? So many questions.

It just feels stupidly complicated for zero reason.
 
I think this may end up being quite entertaining.

All this "complication" will make it less predictable and have more action out on track.
 
On the shorter tracks the pole sitter will have done 10 to 12 laps per session easy. Even the longer ones like Spa will see 6 to 8 laps a session. So the pole sitter will have been forced to do 30+ laps to qualify, while those behind may have done as little as 3. Are they done using the same tyre allocation?

And what the hell is this going to do to Monaco! Forcing all the cars onto the track at the same time to try and find space! There will be a pile up at Rascas before the 7 minute timer even hits!
 
Surely every 90 seconds takes into account the whole session... So the front runners will do the same; set a safe lap and then wait until the next session. I think it will make Q3 more entertaining so there isn't just "two" runs.
 
Goksly said:
Surely every 90 seconds takes into account the whole session... So the front runners will do the same; set a safe lap and then wait until the next session. I think it will make Q3 more entertaining so there isn't just "two" runs.
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Of course it will.

What it will stop is the fastest cars only coming out midway through the session or towards the end.

Also make a mistake and you are potentially out.
 
Goksly said:
Surely every 90 seconds takes into account the whole session... So the front runners will do the same; set a safe lap and then wait until the next session. I think it will make Q3 more entertaining so there isn't just "two" runs.
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90 seconds is not enough time to react if your in the pits, so everyone who usually sits in the pits waiting until a few minutes are left before deciding weather to go out will instead have to be out on track, presumably trundling around saving their tyres getting in everyones way.

Edit: No, wait, this is in the details above:

but drivers must be on track throughout each part until they get knocked out.
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That reads like you must be on track to count, no sitting in the pits at all?
 
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Skeeter said:
90 seconds is not enough time to react if your in the pits, so everyone who usually sits in the pits waiting until a few minutes are left before deciding weather to go out will instead have to be out on track, presumably trundling around saving their tyres getting in everyones way.

Edit: No, wait, this is in the details above:



That reads like you must be on track to count, no sitting in the pits at all?
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That's how I read it, qualifying is essentially race conditions, all cars on the track all the time, setting flying laps in potential traffic, though how do you start qualifying in that case?
 
Well, that's certainly interesting. I'll reserve judgement until I see it, but it doesn't half sound gimmicky. Frankly I didn't have an issue with the way qualifying was, it seemed to generate plenty of excitement - which is more than a number of the races did...
 
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