There’s no denying that the new qualifying format introduced for the season opening Australian Grand Prix was an embarrassing and dull affair, with the grid decided way before the chequered flag was flown in Q3.
In fact Lewis Hamilton could’ve jumped out of his Mercedes and walked up to the gantry to wave it for himself, such was the lack of track activity throughout the final segment.
With the old format the fans and members of the paddock alike were treated to a crescendo of excitement, with the drivers battling to make sure they were the last over the line in a bid to secure pole position.
Admittedly last season Mercedes secured pole position at every race except Singapore, but surely that’s the pure essence of qualifying: the fastest team/driver rises to the top and naturally starts from the front.
That is unless you want reverse grids like GP2 and GP3, which quite frankly could lead to teams and drivers ‘sandbagging’ on purpose just to qualify at the back so as to enjoy the grid reversal at the end.
As we try and look forward to the 58-lap Australian Grand Prix, the team principals have already expressed dissatisfaction and pure embarrassment at the new qualifying format and will meet prior to the race on Sunday to discuss reverting to the original format from last season.
However, I wasn’t even the biggest advocate of that format of qualifying as it still allowed drivers to remain in the pits and preserve their tyres for the race.
What is needed is a completely new format. All the powers that be have done is tinker with a format which admittedly wasn’t broken and should've been left alone.
If they wanted to change qualifying, then they should’ve done so completely with a new format.
Some have even called for a return of the one-lap qualifying format, which once again I wasn’t the biggest fan of, although it did add pressure to the drivers participating as one mistake would literally ruin your chances of a decent grid spot.
Here’s my idea for a new qualifying format, featuring a bit of nostalgia coupled with the much loved elimination aspect.
Many of you will remember the classic one hour ‘free-for-all’ qualifying format the sport had between 1996 and 2002, with drivers literally able to set a time at any period within the one hour with the order at the end deciding the grid for the race.
How simple!
Admittedly there were several boring aspects of this format, most notably the first 15 minutes or so when the big teams elected not to take to the track.
This resulted in the smaller teams rubbering the track in during the opening minutes, the likes of Minardi, Tyrrell, Stewart and Arrows.
Unless rain was forecast for the end of the session, the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Williams wouldn’t emerge for what felt like ages.
My idea for qualifying would encompass the same one hour ‘free-for-all’ aspect, however at the halfway stage the slowest ten drivers would be eliminated.
Despite this elimination, the timer wouldn’t stop and neither would the session. The drivers not eliminated could continue improving upon their benchmarks, as the track evolves naturally throughout the afternoon/evening.
With only 15 minutes remaining the slowest six remaining drivers would be eliminated, resulting in only six remaining.
Once again the timer would not need to be stopped and the session would continue unhindered.
However, there would be one catch to make sure all six remaining drivers were forced to return to the track.
There times would be deleted.
So even if the conditions hadn’t improved, be it due to a drop in temperature or even rainfall, the six fastest drivers would be literally forced to return to the track in a bid to secure pole position.
If a driver tried to be clever and stay in the pits, he would be relegated to the back of the order as remember, his time would have been deleted and therefore it would be improper for him to start anywhere near the front of the grid.
The final 15 minutes would be akin to the old format from last season, albeit with only six drivers battling for pole position.
This would remove the perils of traffic, allowing the six drivers to complete their laps relatively unhindered.
The next big question is tyres.
At the moment there seems to be a convoluted rule regarding tyre usage in qualifying, which quite frankly only adds to the lack of appeal.
Currently the top eight have to start the race on the tyres they used in Q2, which admittedly is far better than the old ruling where drivers would have to start using their tyres from Q3.
But even so, the drivers should be encouraged to go fast in qualifying. After all that’s what it is all about!
So therefore in my new qualifying format Pirelli would provide each driver with four sets of the super-soft or ultra-soft compound just for qualifying.
For the race all of the drivers would have free reign over selecting their tyre choices from the race tyres provided to them.
If a driver failed to use a set of tyres available to him during qualifying, then so be it, he would be unable to cheekily use them in the race.
Regardless of what qualifying amendments are on the horizon, the sole aim should be to make the session exciting with a thrilling finish as the chequered flag is waved.
None of this constant clocking-watching malarkey, just pure speed, adrenaline, and sexiness.
That is what Formula 1 should be about in every aspect.
For now though let’s forget about that awful qualifying session and look ahead to the race.
The Toro Rossos look surprisingly competitive and Ferrari are closer to Mercedes.
Not everything in F1 is negative these days…
