Reversed Grid order in 2020

[Nitrodaze]

Liberty Media is proposing that for a few races next season, qualifying would be a short Sprint race. In the sprint race which would take place on Saturday in place of the traditional qualifying, the order of the grid in the sprint race would be the reverse order of the drivers championship table. The leader of the championship would start dead last and the driver at the bottom of the championship would start on pole.

The order of the positions at the end of the sprint race would form the grid order for the race on Sunday. F2 does something similar but different as the reverse is done based on the result of the previous race.

I think if the reverse grid is done on a track where overtaking is possible to give faster cars the chance to overtake and the sprint is at least 20 laps, then this could be very entertaining. It would mix up the championship table and would not necessarily represent the order of the best drivers and cars on the grid at those races; especially if the race is at a track where overtaking is difficult. And it puts more pressure on engine life in the face of a limited engine regime. And it take more out of the drivers and pit crew at race weekends, especially if the sprint race takes place in one of those back to back race weekends.

I feel they are wringing too much out of the teams for the sake of entertainment, with longer calendar, increased numbers of back to back races and now sprint races for qualifying. I would enjoy the spectacle but l feel the f1 seams would start to rip at some point in 2020 under this load.

What do you think? Farce or Fabulous?

[Starter4]

There would be one heck of a 1st turn crash at most tracks with that scenario. I like the idea of a Saturday qualifying sprint race though. Start the sprint race with 1st six championship points order reversed. Ditto for 2nd six, etc.

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[Nitrodaze]

There would be one heck of a 1st turn crash at most tracks with that scenario. I like the idea of a Saturday qualifying sprint race though. Start the sprint race with 1st six championship points order reversed. Ditto for 2nd six, etc.

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Yea, but very unlikely drivers would get a chance to win races. Imagine Magnussen winning a race for Haas or Perez winning a race for Racing Point in 2020. That would be mega.

[N. Jones]

Interesting but I can't see the teams approving or go along with this at all.

[Bagwan]

They should make it a scooter race so they don't wreck the cars before the main event .
Just imagine the scooters they might design .

And , they could use sprinklers at random times around the circuit , like Bernie wanted way back when .

If they use scooters and sprinklers , then I'm on board .
If not , forget it .

[Nitrodaze]

How about they leave the cars in the constructors championship order but reverse the order of the drivers according to the drivers championship table. So Hamilton drives the williams at the very last position and Russell drives the Mercedes on pole etc etc etc.

[Bagwan]

Now that I've had some time to think about it , I'm worried that some of the drivers could get hurt riding the scooters .
Maybe they could each nominate a grid kid to race them .

We could then bring back the grid girls and arm them with nerf guns and place them around the track .

And , they could race backwards around the track .
Yeah , I like that .

Maybe they should be bicycles instead of scooters .
Yeah , solar bicycles , that's it .
Ah , stationary solar bicycles , and the grid kids could power the whole paddock .

And , the bicycles could have bells on them .

[The Black Knight]

How about they leave the cars in the constructors championship order but reverse the order of the drivers according to the drivers championship table. So Hamilton drives the williams at the very last position and Russell drives the Mercedes on pole etc etc etc.

Contractually I doubt very much this idea would be possible as drivers are contracted to teams. It would take support from all the drivers and teams on the grid to implementing this idea and, since most drivers regard grid reversal of any sort as absurd, I cannot imagine them agreeing to it, nor teams agreeing to it as it would potentially expose some team secrets.

[Nitrodaze]

Now that I've had some time to think about it , I'm worried that some of the drivers could get hurt riding the scooters .
Maybe they could each nominate a grid kid to race them .

We could then bring back the grid girls and arm them with nerf guns and place them around the track .

And , they could race backwards around the track .
Yeah , I like that .

Maybe they should be bicycles instead of scooters .
Yeah , solar bicycles , that's it .
Ah , stationary solar bicycles , and the grid kids could power the whole paddock .

And , the bicycles could have bells on them .

I have a brilliant idea, they should qualify with all the teams simulator hooked up to cloud F1 2019 game console. A virtual race with points for the first six at the end of the game. And the order the virtual race finished would be the starting order for the race on sunday.

Of course the Virtual race should be televised and all FIA on track rules apply.

[Bagwan]

I have a brilliant idea, they should qualify with all the teams simulator hooked up to cloud F1 2019 game console. A virtual race with points for the first six at the end of the game. And the order the virtual race finished would be the starting order for the race on sunday.

Of course the Virtual race should be televised and all FIA on track rules apply.

Would they have bells on them ?

Not the worst idea I've heard , Nitro .
At Least they wouldn't be risking the equipment they'd need in an actual race .
It's likely the only way we'd ever hope to see all in identical cars .

[Nitrodaze]

Would they have bells on them ?

Not the worst idea I've heard , Nitro .
At Least they wouldn't be risking the equipment they'd need in an actual race .
It's likely the only way we'd ever hope to see all in identical cars .

Yep, no risk to expensive equipment, no stress on pitcrew. It could be staged in an auditorium with live music before and DJ music after the virtual race. You heard it here first ;-)

[Tazio]

I've enjoyed reading the parody on this issue in this forum! ;) I think it is accurate to say that these opinions imply a negative reaction to Liberty's proposal by most. What do the drivers think of these suggestions? I'm glad you asked!


Formula 1 drivers have been speaking out against some of the experimental proposals to the sport planned for next season.Liberty Media has been talking up prospects of trialling reverse grids at future races, but the drivers have come out fiercely opposed to such 'gimmicks' even on a limited basis.Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel both came out against the idea last weekend after the Singapore Grand Prix, with Hamilton stating: "The people that proposed that don't really know what they are talking about."These suggestions IMO are of Eccelstonian proportions, and IMO this was a knee jerk reaction to the Monza qualifying farce. F1 has IMO been incredibly competitive, and entertaining over the last three races. I don't think these phony suggestion are in the best interest of this sport any less than the drivers. Their are other technical problems that could be addressed.
Rogro the Director of Grand Prix Drivers Association list a few. And require thoughtful cooperation from all concerned parties:


The GPDA point is - and it's from 100 per cent of drivers - that the problem is not the way the weekends are," Grosjean stated. "The problems are bigger than that.
"It's tyres," he suggested." Why there is such a big gap between the cars? Because the tyres are just so sensitive."It's money distribution," he continued. "When the money is spread out like this, how can you get a close championship?"Then it is weight of the car, which is very much related to helping the tyres," he added. "And aero sensitivity, which F1 is working on."We believe that if those four points are sorted, then the championship doesn't need any tricks or whatever."

[Bagwan]

My reaction to mock the idea comes directly from my disbelief at the stupidity of even mentioning they had thought about it in any serious way .

At best , they might have put it out just to start a bigger conversation .
But , I don't think so .

Curiously , though , it has .
And , I find it heartening that all the drivers were against it , and that they made their feelings known about what they feel is needed to fix the situation .
Perhaps next time they think up any crazy ideas , they might think of asking the drivers first before bringing it out in public .

They all want to win , but all also know it feels better to beat more worthy opponents .
I want that , too .

[Tazio]

:stareup: Very well stated!

[Bagwan]

:stareup: Very well stated!

I still want bells .

[Tazio]

I still want bells .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaEC-lWSlmI :sailor:

[Nitrodaze]

I still want bells .

Well here you go

MY DING A LING, MY DING-A-LING YES I WANT MY FINE DING-A-LING!!!

[denkimi]

I have a brilliant idea, they should qualify with all the teams simulator hooked up to cloud F1 2019 game console. A virtual race with points for the first six at the end of the game. And the order the virtual race finished would be the starting order for the race on sunday.

Of course the Virtual race should be televised and all FIA on track rules apply.
Why the f1 game when they could all play mario kart? We could let the audience vote who gets a blue shell or some bananas.

[Zico]

I still want bells .


How about wheelchair racing with bells?

[Bagwan]

How about wheelchair racing with bells?

It's got a nice ring to it .

[Nitrodaze]

https://images.cdn.circlesix.co/image/2/1200/630/5/uploads/posts/2019/02/3ff68be09a423aa1a19accb09b70d87a.jpg

I think go kart sprint race on ice would also be very entertaining. It hasn't got a bell tho but l can ring one for you Baggie.