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'Quali will not be more entertaining in Bahrain'

Published on 29 Mar 2016 15:09
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By: Rob Veenstra

Toto Wolff has slammed the decision to keep the highly controversial 'musical chairs' qualifying format in place for Bahrain. After the system's farcical debut in Melbourne, team bosses got together on Sunday before the season-opening race and agreed to scrap it.

But amid calls for a governance overhaul of the sport, the change did not get the go-ahead of the F1 Commission, which comprised of all the major stakeholders including circuits and promoters. Toto Wolff, having immediately declared the new format featuring 90-second elimination countdowns as "rubbish", said on Tuesday that F1 is now making a further mistake by continuing with it in Bahrain.

"The teams were unanimous in their opinion of it on Sunday in Melbourne and it wasn't a positive opinion," he said. "We haven't found the right format with this change and it's hard to see how it might be more entertaining for the fans this weekend in Bahrain."

Wolff suggested he is not a believer in the adage that any publicity is good for F1, with many saying the sport is clearly in crisis. "The sport is under scrutiny on this matter, so careful thought is required in order to make coordinated, intelligent steps forward from the position we are in right now," he said.

"The fans want close racing, in a format they can understand, between the best drivers and cars in the world -- in that order. We should be capable of delivering that to the people in the grandstands and watching around the world." (GMM)

dr002

Posts: 141

I agree that us fans want close racing between the best drivers and cars in the world, but I'm getting tired of leaders within the sport implying that the fans do not like certain features of F1 because they don't understand the rules...... We're not stupid! the format does not need to be 'dumbed... [Read more]

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Mar 30 2016 - 06:18

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Replies (1)

dr002

Posts: 141
I agree that us fans want close racing between the best drivers and cars in the world, but I'm getting tired of leaders within the sport implying that the fans do not like certain features of F1 because they don't understand the rules...... We're not stupid! the format does not need to be 'dumbed down' for us fans!! It's more a case that we DO understand the regulation, but the regulations are ridiculous.

I 'understood' the latest qualifying format used in Australia, the problem was simply that the new regulations didn't deliver the desired outcomes in Q2 and Q3.

That's not to say that I believe qualifying should revert back to the 2015 qualifying regulations, because that format does nothing to advance close racing either.

I'm actually happy the administration took action in an attempt to find a better alternative, and I would be more supportive of undertaking further changes to the existing format throughout the season, rather than reverting to the old simplistic 2015 qualifying format....... Just don't make decisions on our behalf (the fans) for the sake of simplicity, we're not stupid!!
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- Mar 30 2016 - 06:18