New Qualifying System in Place - 2006

New quali system decided

F1Central.net: Knock-out session to enter in '06

(GMM) A radical new qualifying system will be installed for the start of the 2006 season, it is reported.

Several media outlets claim that team bosses have now agreed to scrap the current single-lap format in favour of a sort of \'knockout\' competition, which gives each driver a maximum of four laps.

The first lap will be completed in an initial 15-minute period, when - at the end - the five slowest cars are eliminated and locked in positions sixteen through twenty.

A second quarter-hour will determine grid slots 11 to 15, before a final shootout for pole and the top spots. A five minute gap is to separate each block of action.

The format will probably be run with low fuel, but David Coulthard has already emerged as an opponent of what he describes as yet another \'handicap system\' in motor racing.

\'\'I don\'t agree with that,\'\' said the Scot.

\'\'I\'m surprised Minardi and Jordan are agreeing to it -- they will be the first ones out and will get no TV (exposure).\'\'
.

This article was written on 20050802



Carol

 

How many times do we need to change the rules? Again and again and again. This is getting beyond confusing even for dedicated followers of F1.

People have barely started understanding the one lap qualifying. Then there was the 2 session (saturday and sunday) qualifying disaster. Then back to one lap. Then change it again.

Might as well take a hat and stick 20 names in there and do a lottery for starting grid positions!

 

That one sounds good to me.

 

I can go one step further.... What is the point of racing?
Stick 20 names in a hat and detrmine the race results through a lottery too.

 

The current format is just plain stupid.

The big mistake is that car's qualify with their racespeed. So cars with better racespeed, will be ahead before the race has even begun. That way you can be sure of a lack of overtaking.

To stimulate a difference between quali-setup and race-setup, means that cars with a relatively good Q-setup but with a lesser race-setup, will be treatened of being overtaken during the race, also known as on track duelling, or racing.

In the current format, the FIA have gone out of their way to minimize that difference by letting cars qualify in their racing setup. Why and for what reason (other than to show us Minardi's in their 'hot' lap) is totally beyond me.

The original format of 12 laps within the hour, would've worked just fine, with the addition of making a hotlap every 15 minutes mandatory. That way, we have a clear format with the guarantee that we see the cars out and running all around the hour.

Could it be that easy?

 

Two years ago it was perfect and now every year they change the format, just leave it alone.

 

Yeah it sounds pretty fockin stupid. Just go back to two open sessions,
fastest man get pole.

 

Yeah I like it when all the cars had 60 minutes to set a fast lap and you could try as many times as you want within that time frame. This single lap, aggergate laps, and now this knock-out session confusion is only going to cause further chaos. Ahh well thus is F1.

 

This new elimination quali. has got to be the stupidest thing the FiA has done since the qualifying on Saturday and Sunday thing.

Who is running the FiA a bunch of little kids?!

 

No, a bunch of old, out of touch fools with the mentality of little kids.

 

I take that back, it might be offensive to little kids, sorry children......

 

Oh well. A good reson to do things other than watching TV on Saturdays.
John

 

I completely agree!

But I am afraid we are too glued to F1 to not follow. Bernie and the other 9 teams take their fans for granted. This will come and bite them one day.

 

I think that was already tried and failed it was called the USGP Indy 2005

 

I think they should stay with the single lap qualifying that they use now. It is so much better than the old system where none of the top runners even went out until the last 5 minutes of the one hour session.

 

I've done enough griping about how I enjoy the old one hour sessions, so I decided to think outside the box this time. As qualifying has become a joke, essentially a lottery, why not just stop pretending. Make it entirely unrelated to auto racing. Line the drivers up the day before the race in the pits and have an eating competition. You can vary the dish based on the location of the race. Some people will refuse to do it and start at the back of the grid, some might get sick and start in the middle, etc. I feel the only flaw in my plan is that Montoya might have an unfair advantage comparable to BARs extra gas tank, but sometimes the little guys are pretty wily. On occasion I bet Fisichella or Massa could pull an upset victory over Jabba.

 

It does not work when 3 teams want to race and the other 7 teams want to cry like little school girls!

 

Wasn't this the point of all the voting that took place on the formula one website. Was this not choice two, they choice that had the majority of votes? And was this not a choice of the people?

 

Why not just have practice on saturday and qualifying for 1 hour on sunday AM?

 

Another stupid decision. When will it just go back to the 1 hour qualifying? That's what people want. Sheesh Bernie, I'll tell you what a "knockout" sesson really means.

 

That would be entirely correct. The new format was voted for although the choice of formats were rather 'limited' let's say.

 

Pardon my ignorance but does this new format mean that 20 cars will go out on the track in the first 15 minutes? If so, I foresee chaos.

 

I'm taking bets on how many races it takes before they scrap this idea. I got $20 on 4 races.