New qualifying rules proposal

[schmenke]

...On an improving track, the outcome is going to depend on exactly where you are on track when the hammer comes down, and because of the 90-second cadence, if you're in good position for one window there's a good chance you'll be in the wrong position for the next one or the one after.....

Yep, not to mention, I can foresee 22 cars on the track in the 6th minute of Q1 simultaneously trying to make a fast run so as not to be the (first of) the slowest. As a spectator you can forget about any on-track action for the first 5 minutes .
Or am I completely misunderstanding this daft rule?

[Duncan]

Yep, not to mention, I can foresee 22 cars on the track in the 6th minute of Q1 simultaneously trying to make a fast run so as not to be the (first of) the slowest. As a spectator you can forget about any on-track action for the first 5 minutes .
Or am I completely misunderstanding this daft rule?

No, I think that's about right. Of course, once the elimination starts, there will always be at least one touring now-eliminated car on track at any given time, and most likely two. So the cars still trying to avoid elimination will have to dodge at least one car, and who gets eliminated next is going to depend on how many slow cars they have to pass, and where they are when it happens.

My 20-year-old son's reaction was "Cool! It's going to be total chaos!". He has a different perspective on the situation, I guess...

[The Black Knight]

No, I think that's about right. Of course, once the elimination starts, there will always be at least one touring now-eliminated car on track at any given time, and most likely two. So the cars still trying to avoid elimination will have to dodge at least one car, and who gets eliminated next is going to depend on how many slow cars they have to pass, and where they are when it happens.

My 20-year-old son's reaction was "Cool! It's going to be total chaos!". He has a different perspective on the situation, I guess...

Yes, my view on these new rules is that the teams view on it is Chaos is how to make F1 interesting. Unfortunately it's just another badly thought out change. The current format works very well. I guess we've just got to give it a chance but I can see it be irritating for seasoned F1 core followers in particular. The johnny come lately's will probably think its' great.

The truth is though that after a number of races the teams will adapt and get used to it, making it pretty dull and predictable overall. If they really want to make qualifying unpredictable for an entire season then they need to change the qualifying format every race or every couple of races and don't tell the team the format until an hour before qualifying begins. Ultimately, the current format works every well and there are much more important things to fix in the sport than something which isn't broken.

[Whyzars]

If they really want to make qualifying unpredictable for an entire season then they need to change the qualifying format every race or every couple of races

What about a kilo of fuel per championship point as a weight penalty for qualifying? It could mix it up enough and allow the bottom teams to qualify closer to the cars above them in the championship.

I know how much people hate the thought of handicapping at any time but aren't the rule changes today intended to make the grid unpredictable?

I am amazed that they would implement something so complex and think its progress.

[schmenke]

... Ultimately, the current format works every well and there are much more important things to fix in the sport than something which isn't broken.

Yep, spot on.


Actually, I can see the top teams going out early in the session, albeit on a non-rubbered in track, to bang in a quick lap then retiring to the pits assuming their times won't be the slowest.

[Nitrodaze]

Yep, spot on.


Actually, I can see the top teams going out early in the session, albeit on a non-rubbered in track, to bang in a quick lap then retiring to the pits assuming their times won't be the slowest.

I think the opposite would happen. The top teams would go out and bang in a really fast lap and go back into the pits to watch the backend and midfield teams drop off like flies.
It would be interesting on tracks where a top team have difficulty getting their act together. but it would be no different regardless of the type of qualifying. samemo samemo just a different impact in the midfields. We may see the odd occasion where typical backend teams get some good fortune to get up the order when some midfield team mess up. But once the red lights go out, the normal pecking order would ressume.

After thinking more about this, it occurred to me that this may give Ferrari some opportunities to capitalize on Merc's operational frailties. We have seen in the past how fragile the merc team gets as the season wears on. They notoriously make silly mistakes under pressure, hence this new quali rule may rattle them occasionally and maybe we may see more than two teams win races this year.

[IceMan_PJN]

What about a kilo of fuel per championship point as a weight penalty for qualifying? It could mix it up enough and allow the bottom teams to qualify closer to the cars above them in the championship.

I will never approve of punishing success. That's the opposite of sport. The people that do best deserve their success. I don't like the idea of rewarding mediocrity. If we took ideas of handicaps for success from motorsport and applied similar ideas to ball sports, teams that score lots of points or win lots of games would have to play with lead shoes or wearing backpacks full of bricks to give the sucky teams a chance at being gifted an undeserved "win".


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[Rollo]

What about a kilo of fuel per championship point as a weight penalty for qualifying?

Qualifying for the 2015 Abu Dhabi GP:

Lewis Hamilton 363kg
Nico Rosberg 297kg
Sebastian Vettel 266kg
Valtteri Bottas 136kg
Kimi Räikkönen 135kg

That sounds bonkers.

[Duncan]

What about a kilo of fuel per championship point as a weight penalty for qualifying? It could mix it up enough and allow the bottom teams to qualify closer to the cars above them in the championship.

Wait, I have a better idea - what about giving them random fuel loads? That would definitely make it "unpredictable". Especially if you don't tell the driver how much they have, and they randomly stop on track.

Somebody call Bernie!!

[Whyzars]

Qualifying for the 2015 Abu Dhabi GP:

Lewis Hamilton 363kg
Nico Rosberg 297kg
Sebastian Vettel 266kg
Valtteri Bottas 136kg
Kimi Räikkönen 135kg

That sounds bonkers.

You can see that those figures would definitely bring the leaders back to the field.

What is really bonkers is people considering F1 a sacred sport where handicapping has no place.

Just as horse racing is called a sport there is no argument when a horse carries a kilo in their saddlebag, there should be no argument when another betting platform is seeking to bring results closer together.

You are not penalising success rather you are trying to save an entertainment spectacle from becoming unwatched by the masses.

The reason I chose fuel is because the cars are already set up to carry an amount of fuel. It could be lead bags under the drivers seat for all it matters. The race is unaffected rather it is just the qualifying.

I wouldn't expect any driver would see anywhere near a 70 point lead at the end of a season but if you just use the drivers you've listed, Hamilton carrying maximum tank capacity of 120kg then Rosberg goes out with a proportioned load of 100kg.

Lewis Hamilton 120kg
Nico Rosberg 100kg
Sebastian Vettel 90kg
Valtteri Bottas 45kg
Kimi Räikkönen 45kg

It is probably fair to say that the qualifying result would be influenced and achieve sufficient randomness.

There is going to be an enormous amount of rapid fire betting during the new qualifying. Why else would they do it in the way they have?