Opinion: Formula 1 Qualifying

The biggest new that took place in Formula 1 Tuesday was the announcement of the new potential qualifying system. Qualifying would still be split into three sessions as it is now but instead of drivers eliminated at the end of each session the slowest driver would be eliminated about halfway through the session and then the slowest remaining car every 90 seconds after that until the end of the session. This would happen in all three parts so we would end up with two cars in the final 90 seconds of Q3 battling for pole. The qualifying rules are not official as they still need approval by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council but if approved they could be put into place this year. Also at today's meeting, it was agreed to extend the deadline for 2017 technical rules until April 30.

The reasoning behind this idea is that it will encourage the cars to remain on the track more through qualifying as they will be fighting elimination throughout the entire session and also it is a potential way the grid could get shaken up without using artificial ideas such as reverse grids.

Will new qualifying regulations allow us to see new drivers in the top 3?

I have mixed opinions about a system such as this as I feel it could be intriguing as it will hopefully bring more action throughout qualifying but one of the problems I see is that it will probably be very confusing to a casual fan. I think it will be difficult to explain to them why cars are dropping out of qualifying every 90 seconds and it will also be difficult for them to keep up with. This will also be difficult for TV stations that run commercials during qualifying as it will make it harder for them to not miss any of the eliminations in a session. Another part I do not like about this is with cars being eliminated throughout the session you will have cars on the track that are technically not in qualifying anymore but they could still impede with a driver on a hot lap if they catch up to the eliminated driver at the wrong time.

As far as being a way to shake up the grid I do not think it will help that much. We might see teams and drivers caught out early in the season and have to start lower than they are accustomed to on the grid but I think by the halfway point of the season everyone will be used to how the system works and will not have many problems with it.

The main problem that I have with this type of qualifying is that qualifying was fine the way it was and was generally liked by the public. For such an important meeting for the future of Formula 1, I think it would have been better for them to discuss more important things such as how to bring new fans to the sport instead of trying to fix the one part of Formula 1 that is universally liked. I think the current qualifying regulations go under the category of if it is not broken don't fix it.

What are your opinions on this new potential qualifying system? Do you approve of it or would you rather see them stick with the current system? Do you have any ideas for a new qualifying system? Please share your opinions in the comments section below?