Quali 2006 Have They Finally Got It Right?

[Red Bull fan ire 0]

Last month the qulifying format was change by the FIA for the second time in three years. My question is have they finally got it right?

[Jem of the Shire 0]

I very much seriously doubt it. Slower teams are going to suffer badly, and will no doubt complain of lack of tv coverage cos they get eliminated first every weekend. Plus casual viewers will tune in, see people get eliminated and then others start again, and think "what?" and turn off. Qualifying doesnt need to be complicated

[pumpdoc 2]

Better than what was last year.

[monza gorilla 1]

I was going to say that it would be difficult to make things worse, but that would be tempting fate. The new format is an improvement, on paper, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We shall see.

[Senna 0]

I was going to say that it would be difficult to make things worse, but that would be tempting fate. The new format is an improvement, on paper, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We shall see.

Indeed. It sounds good but I still want the pre-2003 qualifying format

[ButtonGod 0]

They've got the qualifying format all wrong yet again. I'm convinced that another change to the qualifying rules will be made in time for the new season or after a few races.

How is it right that half of the grid only get half a session? All cars should get equal time.

I'm just waiting to see what happens when a top driver gets eliminated early due to a driver error or car failure. I think the Sh#t will hit the fan!

[pumpdoc 2]

They've got the qualifying format all wrong yet again. I'm convinced that another change to the qualifying rules will be made in time for the new season or after a few races.

How is it right that half of the grid only get half a session? All cars should get equal time.

I'm just waiting to see what happens when a top driver gets eliminated early due to a driver error or car failure. I think the Sh#t will hit the fan!

It's got to be better, but I agree with Senna pre 2003 would be better.

[funkejay 0]

No it's a fiasco. The cars that are eliminated in the first few sessions will not be qualifying with race fuel, but the final qualifiers are required to, which means that the times from the drivers eliminated early in the process very well could (and in many cases will) be faster than the final qualy time of the pole sitter. And they say that this won't confuse prospective fans???

To make matters worse, after qualifying the drivers eliminated early can then add as much fuel as they want to carry in the first stint of the race, whereas those battling it out for the pole must start the race with exactly the same amount of fuel they qualified with. This discrepancy in parc ferme regulations effectively serves to penalize the fastest qualifiers, and artificially generate closer racing towards the end of the first and second stints (as the slower qualifiers go long on their first stints and claw back some of the disadvantage from starting down the order).

This may be exactly what the FIA has in mind, but its not F1.

[nojvnof1 0]

It does sound a little gimmicky, but it's a massive improvement over what we saw this year. Initially, I've been in favour of this system, but as is common, we'll know how good it really is come next March.

[bajo39 0]

No it's a fiasco. The cars that are eliminated in the first few sessions will not be qualifying with race fuel, but the final qualifiers are required to, which means that the times from the drivers eliminated early in the process very well could (and in many cases will) be faster than the final qualy time of the pole sitter. And they say that this won't confuse prospective fans???

To make matters worse, after qualifying the drivers eliminated early can then add as much fuel as they want to carry in the first stint of the race, whereas those battling it out for the pole must start the race with exactly the same amount of fuel they qualified with. This discrepancy in parc ferme regulations effectively serves to penalize the fastest qualifiers, and artificially generate closer racing towards the end of the first and second stints (as the slower qualifiers go long on their first stints and claw back some of the disadvantage from starting down the order).

This may be exactly what the FIA has in mind, but its not F1.

Indeed Funkejay, penalizing the faster cars makes for closer (more exciting?) racing in theory but it is the sort of thing that should be limited to the lower series and particularly sports car series, eg ALMS, Mazda SCS, where the fans merely want to see action. Formla 1 has always been about cut-throat competition and this flies in the face of that tradition.

[Senna 0]

There was nothing wrong with the pre-2003 system. In fact, it was perfect, as we are painfully now discovering with certainty. I am aware of the reasons for the change but they are not at all convincing.

[bajo39 0]

There was nothing wrong with the pre-2003 system. In fact, it was perfect, as we are painfully now discovering with certainty. I am aware of the reasons for the change but they are not at all convincing.

Mmmm, I tend to agree with you.