Skip to main content

Recommended for you

Cleetus McFarland wavered briefly but still aims to race Daytona 500

NASCAR O'Reilly
Nashville
Cleetus McFarland wavered briefly but still aims to race Daytona 500

Nico Rosberg exposes Michael Schumacher's mind games during Mercedes F1 partnership

Formula 1
Monaco GP
Nico Rosberg exposes Michael Schumacher's mind games during Mercedes F1 partnership

Denny Hamlin wants a shorter Nashville Cup race

NASCAR Cup
Nashville
Denny Hamlin wants a shorter Nashville Cup race

Winners and losers from IndyCar's Detroit GP

IndyCar
Detroit
Winners and losers from IndyCar's Detroit GP

No breakthrough on F1 engine rule changes yet, extra day of winter testing in 2027

Formula 1
Monaco GP
No breakthrough on F1 engine rule changes yet, extra day of winter testing in 2027

Manthey loses title-winning engineer to SSR: Top replacement found for Preining

DTM
Manthey loses title-winning engineer to SSR: Top replacement found for Preining

Anduril is giving away a real NASCAR Cup car in new sweepstakes

NASCAR Cup
San Diego
Anduril is giving away a real NASCAR Cup car in new sweepstakes

Is Fernando Alonso right to say F1 lost a “decade of pure racing” with hybrid switch?

Formula 1
Is Fernando Alonso right to say F1 lost a “decade of pure racing” with hybrid switch?

Debate: Do you support an F1 qualifying shake-up?

With Formula One looking into ways they can amend the show, would you support a switch to a four-stage qualifying session?

Front row starters, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1, and pole man Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1, arrive on the grid after Qualifying

Motorsport Blog

Motorsport Blog

At the start of the season, it emerged that a four-part qualifying session was back on the cards for 2020, with discussions ongoing in the strategy group.

The idea behind it is to create additional uncertainty for the top teams, and it would add more opportunities for potential starting grid mix-ups.

The potential format could be that four cars are eliminated from Q1, Q2 and Q3, which would leave eight cars to battle for pole position. Additional discussions about forcing the top eight cars to start on their Q4 tyres have also been held.

However, this switch is not without protest. Teams have expressed doubts about having enough tyres to complete four qualifying sessions, unless additional sets are provided. Under the current regulations, it's not uncommon to see teams refrain from running in Q3 due to a desire to save tyres.

Read Also:

The existing three-session qualifying hour has been in place since 2006, with only minor changes taking place to either fine-tune the procedures, or accommodate other regulations such as mid-race refuelling.

For F1 fans, the most recent attempts to change the qualifying format will be fresh in the memory. Back at the start of the 2016 season, the 'elimination' method of qualifying was introduced, where drivers would be removed one-by-one from the session after 90-second time intervals.

It received widespread criticism due to the action often being concluded long before the end of each qualifying segment and, despite talks of maybe tweaking the system again, the format was reverted back altogether after two races.

This last attempt at dressing up qualifying was largely met with a "don't fix what isn't broken" response, and everybody involved in the decision-making is understandably cautious about making changes for the sake of changes.

Are you in favour of Formula One adding another segment to qualifying? Do you think qualifying needs to be changed at all? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Previous article Ferrari risks overloading Binotto with responsibility - Berger
Next article Russell gets why Red Bull juniors drive at "120 percent"

Top Comments

Latest news