I don't hate this, still trying to decide whether I like it...and waiting for smarter folk to point out all the down sides. Also, as it says at the end, still needs to be ratified by the WMSC. Discussions between now and then may derail it. F1 gets dramatic qualifying overhaul (racer.com)
Wow, that will be chaotic the first few times they run it! I haven't decided if it will be fun to watch or heartbreaking! Could be both! In general, I don't have a problem with them changing formats like this, after all it's a TV show.......
Presumably the mechanics are wearing gloves so when they get stuck to the supersoft tyres they can just leave the gloves on the tyres and not lose the skin of their palms? Sorry, tires, not tyres.
Jonathan Noble has been writing a lot about this qualification system change. Best line so far: He may be right there. His suggestion, if there must be change, is run a qualifying race on Sat with the starting order reverse of driver championship standing, 22 laps and the last car on the track at the end of each lap is eliminated. Starting order for the race is then the reverse of the order of elimination. To clarify, I do not want them to do this but I do think it would be fun to watch. Just imagine all the desperate pass attempts. Might make for greater attendance on Sat than Sun...
The trouble with desperate is that it turns into foolish and somehow the good old boy rubbin' is racin' doesn't equate well to open wheel F1 cars.
The Merc line on the chart above is slightly misleading. That is the fastest time for Merc today, and it was by Rosberg, but apparently Hamilton ran in the morning session and the two of them ran a total of over 150 laps.
Plus too and also, you don't know whether the fast laps were on low fuel and sticky tires and the long runs on full tanks, so the times can be misleading. I'm simply looking at Haas running fairly consistent times every day.......
Mark Hughes of motorsport.com on the proposed new qualifying system: Full article (with both more detail and yet another race weekend proposal) here: Qualifying change could have been much worse
I liked his comment about mixing up the grid "That way you can see the difference between those who can race and those who can merely drive fast."
Like others, but especially for such a new team, they're doing a lot more than just making the car go round and round. Though some of the team likely already had experience before the test started, hired away from other teams, etc, I imagine there's a LOT of getting used to one another to make the team gel and for many the whole thing is new. Even the logistics side of things, learning what goes best where in the garage, pit stop practice, etc, etc, etc. Puts that lap count in perspective when you think of how much more there is for a new team to learn and how many things are far from second nature at this point.
"I’m very happy with the car, very positive. I like driving it." is a good sign. Romain Grosjean, Driver No. 8, Haas F1 Team: “The morning went without any problems. It was a really good morning. After lunch, we had a software glitch that cost us two small runs, but once we sorted that we were able to do some more mileage. The idea is to see how far the parts can go and which ones will be the first to go, so we did a good job in that aspect. We did the most laps so far in this test, so that’s good. Generally, I’m very happy with the car, very positive. I like driving it. The guys are doing a good job. We found some setup improvements, so that’s very positive for everyone.†Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team: “It was a very constructive day. We are pretty happy on what we achieved. We are getting laps together and, for sure, experienced some little problems, but that’s why we’re here. The team seems to be gelling and we’re working hard. There’s a very good atmosphere in the team and weâ€re making progress.â€
Reverse grids in F1 are just a good way of trashing cars on turn 1. I liked when the teams got to be in the decision making process. The problem is that the vote has to be unanimous in stead of majority. That gives the team that is winning to much power. No matter who it is.
Speaking of unknown tire compounds, here's one fact that must seem ominous to all teams but one. Merc ordered only medium compound tires for this week. That's it, nothing softer. Every run is on mediums. That doesn't just explain their times in light of compound, it means they aren't even trying to push for quick lap times yet. I read an article yesterday quoting both Hamilton and Rosberg saying, essentially, that they can't wait until the team lets them turn up the wick to see what happens when they go fast...