In a bid to improve Formula 1, teams have been in discussion on Tuesday and have agreed to the introduction of an elimination style qualifying.
Discussions have been made between team bosses and F1 chiefs in Geneva regarding future ideas, with sources revealing that some proposals gained more support than others, with one of them proposing for the elimination of the slowest car during qualifying.
The new qualifying format has yet to be ratified by officials, with the rule changes needing to be approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council next month. It is understood that the new qualifying will come into play as early as this season.
How the proposal works:
During Q1: The session will be sixteen minutes long, and after seven minutes the slowest driver at that time is eliminated, after which every ninety seconds another driver will be eliminated until the chequered flag falls, meaning seven drivers are eliminated during the first session.
During Q2: The remaining fifteen drivers return to the track for a fifteen minute session, with the slowest driver being eliminated at the six minute mark, with another six drivers being eliminated before the end of the session, again at ninety second intervals.
During Q3: The remaining eight drivers will fight it out for pole position, with a fourteen minute session seeing the first driver being eliminated after five minutes have elapsed. The slowest drivers will then continue to be eliminated at ninety second intervals until we are left with two drivers for the final 90 seconds.
Also discussed was a penalty system where on the basis of championship positions, extra time is added to each drivers’ qualifying time. It is understood that this penalty system could be combined with the elimination system to improve Formula 1.
