Following a unanimous decision earlier on today from all Formula 1 teams voting against the idea of an aggregate qualifying system as opposed to the elimination style qualifying that was announced earlier this year, the FIA have issued a statement reverting back to the qualifying that Formula 1 saw in 2015.
Qualifying Changes Ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix
The statement released from the FIA stated:
“At the unanimous request of the teams in a letter received today, Jean Todt, President of the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone, commercial rights holder representative, accepted, in the interests of the Championship, to submit a proposal to the F1 Commission and World Motor Sport Council to revert to the qualifying format in force in 2015.
This proposal, if approved by the F1 governing bodies, will take effect as from the Chinese Grand Prix and will apply for the rest of the season.”
This is a step in the right direction for Formula 1, with the new elimination style qualifying being very boring, with the circuit being empty four minutes from the end in Q3. Qualifying is supposed to be exciting and this should hopefully be brought back by reverting to the 2015 style of qualifying that we have seen in recent years.
For those of you who can’t remember the format of 2015 qualifying since it was oh so long ago, here is a basic guide on the concepts of it:
Like it has been in recent races, qualifying is split up into three sections: Q1; Q2; and Q3. In each of these sessions apart from in Q3, a set of the slowest lapping drivers are removed. Qualifying in 2015 saw 6 drivers being eliminated from the end of Q1, and 4 drives being eliminated from Q2, leaving 10 drivers to battle it out in Q3 for pole position.
This style of qualifying always offers surprises and worked perfectly well in the 2015 season, with drivers punching in lap after lap, attempting to secure safety into the next session.
With the FIA approving this change back to 2015 qualifying and the hopeful approval of this change from F1’s governing bodies, I for one can’t wait to wake up on a Saturday morning with cup of tea waiting for the action to unfold.
Main Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images
