The FIA expects to sign off a new rule next month which will add a fourth stage to qualifying sessions in the 2020 F1 season, RaceFans has learned.
The sport’s governing body has asked F1 teams to run simulations to assist it with framing the rules around the new ‘Q4’ session, which has been under discussion since last year.A key sticking point concerns the how teams would manage their tyre allocations if faced with an extra qualifying session. At present each driver receives 13 sets of dry weather tyres for the weekend.
There are concerns that, while the fastest teams could save enough tyres to have a fresh set left over to compete in ‘Q4′, other teams would exhaust their supplies of new rubber just to make it that far.
Adding an extra set to the teams’ allocations would require Pirelli to supply 1,680 extra tyres per year, more than half of which would likely end up as waste. Teams have therefore been asked to simulate how they would approach a four-part qualifying session to see if it is feasible by adjusting the tyre allocations in some other way.
Providing a solution can be found the FIA intends to secure backing for the new rule via an F1 Commission e-vote and gain its formal approval by April 30th.
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Their views were echoed by Nico Hulkenberg in Bahrain yesterday. “I don’t see a problem with it but I also don’t see big urge to change it now,” he said. “What would we gain by doing that?”
Hulkenberg expressed doubt that extending qualifying to four parts could increase the chance that drivers from the quicker teams are knocked out earlier.
“I think they could cover,” he said. “They have the luxury of being a lot faster than everybody so that gives them the luxury and the flexibility of going around those kind of rules changes more easily than the slower cars. I’m not sure that would be a solution.”
Current three-part qualifying format
| Stage | Duration | Drivers eliminated | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 18 minutes | 5* | 7 minutes |
| Q2 | 15 minutes | 5* | 8 minutes |
| Q3 | 12 minutes | 10 remaining |
*Assuming 10 teams; 6 if 11 teams, 7 if 12 teams etc…
Proposed four-part qualifying foramt
| Stage | Duration | Drivers eliminated | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 12 minutes | 4* | 5 minutes |
| Q2 | 12 minutes | 4* | 5 minutes |
| Q3 | 10 minutes | 4 | 6 minutes |
| Q4 | 10 minutes | 8 remaining |
*Assuming 10 teams; 5 if 11 teams, 6 if 12 teams, etc…
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2020 F1 season
- Pictures: Wrecked chassis from Grosjean’s Bahrain fireball crash to go on display
- Bottas vs Rosberg: Hamilton’s Mercedes team mates compared after 78 races each
- F1 revenues fell by $877 million in Covid-struck 2020 season
- Hamilton and Mercedes finally announce new deal for 2021 season
- F1 audience figures “strong” in 2020 despite dip in television viewers
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
31st March 2019, 13:01
Ads.
Didi
31st March 2019, 13:52
100% My first thought too!
Coanda (@ming-mong)
31st March 2019, 14:18
You read my mind.. what a waste of effort and tyres. From a racing point of view the only reason I can see they want this is Q1 being as short as it is might catch a few drivers here or their. Traffic management is going to be interesting in Monaco. Lets see how it plays out. At least its not deviating too much of the current format which everyone seems to like.
Coanda (@ming-mong)
31st March 2019, 14:19
*few drivers out here or there
Steve Rogers (@yossarian)
31st March 2019, 13:02
Seriously, who is pushing for a change in qualifying format?! Every year there seems to be a new plan to change it, yet I can’t see any motive for it. Teams, drivers and Pirelli seem against it because of the added complexity and resources it would require. And from the viewer perspective there isn’t anything wrong with it. There’s always action on track the elimination format brings excitement and a good sense of the stakes at the end of every session. It can throw up surprises, such as Gasly and Hulkenberg’s elimination yesterday, which don’t feel contrived but based on merit and the combined performance of the teams. And the fastest driver on the day ends up on pole. If it ain’t broke why fix it?!
Jonathan Parkin
31st March 2019, 13:15
I preferred the one hour 12 lap format we had between 1996-2002. It was simple, easy to understand and if any driver transgressed it was easily dealt with by deleting their fastest (or two fastest) times. Even better at the end you knew who qualified where, it wasn’t altered by penalties after the fact.
The issues I have with the current format is sometimes the driver in 16th place say has a faster time than the driver in 14th because of the split sessions and also because there are no spare cars allowed if a driver crashes he sets no time, but still starts the race making the session technically redundant
Imre (@f1mre)
31st March 2019, 14:18
That was boring.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
31st March 2019, 14:46
The one hour format was better before they introduced the 12 lap limit in 1993.
When they introduced the 12 lap limit (In an effort to spice things up I believe) you started to see the big gaps with no track activity as nobody wanted to waste a run early on.
Prior to the 12 lap limit you saw constant running throughout with cars often doing multiple hot laps & from a viewer’s point of view seeing more track action was always better than the less we got with the 12 lap limit.
@HoHum (@hohum)
31st March 2019, 13:11
So what tyres would the Q4 cars have to start the race on? Maybe we just trade one pointless gimmick for another and let them use the tyre they want. If they must do a Q4 why not mandate the hard option for Q’s 1-3 and 1 set only.
ColdFly (@)
31st March 2019, 15:43
Intermediates in Q1
Hards in Q2
Mediums in Q3
Softs in Q4
Or for people who like the start on quali tyres rule: switch the above around and start on the tyre of your latest quali outing ;)
Joao (@johnmilk)
31st March 2019, 18:51
Race: no tyres
Joao (@johnmilk)
31st March 2019, 13:21
Take away one of the FPs, there solved it
Mark Zastrow (@markzastrow)
31st March 2019, 13:30
I guess I’m in the minority, but I quite like the proposed format. Q1 is too long for my taste—18 minutes to eliminate five cars plus a seven minute break is a bit slow-paced to me. Trimming Q1 and Q2 down to 12 minutes means less down time and increases the pressure on teams and drivers to deliver two clean runs, with increased potential for mistakes to mix up the grid.
In fact, I wouldn’t mind, 6 minute Q1 and Q2 to effectively allow for only one flying lap—force the drivers to step up and deliver with no second runs to hide behind.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
31st March 2019, 13:36
@markzastrow – the thing I like about Q1’s length today is that the amount of track evolution in that session is high, and can catch out people occasionally, if they end up being too confident about a time they set early on (e.g. Gasly in Australia). In that respect, it forces many teams to do multiple runs.
You make a good point about shorter Q1 and Q2 sessions making for more action on track, so there’s definitely a good case to be made for either the current or the proposed approach.
Mark Zastrow (@markzastrow)
31st March 2019, 13:59
@phylyp That’s true, it’s a nice strategic element that I would miss if Q1/Q2 were exceptionally short. Although, the flip side is that when the gamble pays off (as it more often than not does), it effectively allows the top teams an opportunity to be even more dominant with an extra set of tyres, increasing the gap between the top three and the midfield.
I honestly don’t know the answer to this—but if a 12 minute Q1 still meant each team still typically did two runs, would the amount of track evolution not stay essentially the same, and perhaps even increase? To me, naively, it seems the amount of energy and rubber going into the track would stay the same, but it would be over a shorter amount of time with more continuous running, which would only help the track ramp up even faster.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
31st March 2019, 14:16
@markzastrow – I did not consider this, good point!
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
2nd April 2019, 9:59
@markzastrow @phylyp I enjoyed reading this conversation.
Steven Robertson (@emu55)
31st March 2019, 13:30
The only issue I have with the current qualifying is that it is better to start 11th with free tyre choice than 8th to 10th. This needs to be fixed.
Dave F. (@dave-f)
31st March 2019, 14:15
Nobody actually aims to be in those positions, & it can lead to some early race overtakes, so i don’t see the problem.
Jere (@jerejj)
31st March 2019, 13:49
I couldn’t agree more with Seb and Max. Indeed what I’ve been pointing out as well.
”more than half of which would likely end up as waste”
– I’ve always had a problem with this. Why don’t they use the left-over sets of any given race weekend at later point of a season, and if not then for some other running instead? What’s the point to make something if it’s never going to be used for the purpose it’s made for in the first place? A total waste of time and money.
GechiChan (@gechichan)
31st March 2019, 13:58
These are not literally wasted. I believe that many of the sets that are discarded as “waste” are actually melted down and repurposed later as new tires.
Dave F. (@dave-f)
31st March 2019, 14:24
If they’re not used as originally intended then there’s a waste in manufacturing energy & transportation costs. Hardly good for FoM’s ‘green’ credentials. There’s only so many playgrounds which require rubberised surfaces.
Klon (@)
31st March 2019, 14:13
If they add a fourth qualifying session, they should do it DTM-style, where the top four have a one-lap shootout. That would conveniently also help with the tyre problems since you’d only need to hand out one more set of the softest tyre.
Dave F. (@dave-f)
31st March 2019, 14:19
Keep the 3 parts but reduce the break times. The teams are mostly sat in the pits twiddling thumbs. 4 stages would just mean more in/out laps & less on-track action.
falken (@falken)
31st March 2019, 15:43
Think of Sky’s advertising! Gotta show all those adverts…
Dave F. (@dave-f)
1st April 2019, 14:54
I don’t watch Sky @falken. Are you saying it costs 45 quid a month & still includes the irritation of adverts? Boy, there are some gullible people about.
Steve K
31st March 2019, 15:39
April Fools!
Kelsier (@kelsier)
31st March 2019, 17:53
Instead of adding another stage they should remove one. Next year Williams will probably not be here. Why have 4 stages when we have fewer cars than ever.
OldIron
31st March 2019, 18:30
Simple fix: give the teams one set of Bridgestones for the whole of qualifying (that is, use the same set throughout).
Practice sessinos and race on Pirelli tyres as normal (free choice of initial set for the race). Without all the tyres used in quallie, Pirelli could make way fewer of them, with far less wastage. Everyone’s a winner!
PS – this post is best read on Monday morning ;)
rob91
1st April 2019, 10:40
I preferred the single lap format from late 2005 and it would work much better now they don’t refuel during the races so no need to carry fuel for their qualifying lap. They could run in reverse order of free practice times to make those sessions mean something. It shouldn’t matter if rain ruins the laps of the latter runners leading to them qualifying at the back because it is much easier to overtake with DRS these days and it will make the race more exciting to watch for the spectators. Also it would be much more environmentally friendly because each car is doing just one run of out lap – hot lap – in lap instead of the multiple runs you see now.
Lisa
8th April 2019, 8:04
There’s always action on track the elimination format brings excitement and a good sense of the stakes at the end of every session. It can throw up surprises, such as Gasly and Hulkenberg’s elimination yesterday, which don’t feel contrived but based on merit and the combined performance of the teams. And the fastest driver on the day ends up on pole. If it ain’t broke why fix it?!