Steiner: Same day qualifying would lead to loss of fans

  • Published on 20 Oct 2019 12:57
  • comments 1
  • By: Dieter Rencken & Coilin Higgins

Despite qualifying and race being held on the same day being met with positivity during last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, some are still concerned that this could not work every weekend, one of which is Guenther Steiner.

The Haas team principal believes, although the scenario worked thanks to the threat of Typhoon Hagibis forcing Saturday's track action to be cancelled, it would be dangerous to implement the idea into a normal weekend schedule as it would lead to a loss of fans.

"I think it worked in the circumstance we had," Steiner said. "I think it was a good fix to yesterday's problem I think in terms of safety it was the right decision.

"If this is a better idea to do it more consistently to do it all in one day I would say no because we would then lose the people that either watch racing or the people that watch qualifying.

"If you imagine the person sitting at home watching in the morning, in European time I'm obviously speaking, with qualifying and in the afternoon watching racing, then how many times are they going to do that because they are using up all of their Sunday for the two of them."

With concerns rising that the short time frame between qualifying and the race doesn't give teams enough time to repair any damage in-between sessions, Steiner says that he is not as concerned with this matter as he is with the possible loss of interest from the sport.

On Sunday morning Haas driver Kevin Magnussen and Williams' Robert Kubica crashed during Q1 of the qualifying session, leaving both teams with only a couple of hours to fully repair and ready the cars for the race.

"I see it as less of a problem because we have to deal with it and we don't race for just us," Steiner added.

"We are racing for the spectators and the fans which will want to watch us. They will just get an over loss of one day and at the end of the day we would either lose half of the people for qualifying or half of the people for the race.

"I think very few people would stay at home for one day completely to watch Formula 1 in the morning and then again in the afternoon."

Not necessarily a loss of fans, however I do think many of us would have to prioritize. Even as a die hard fan, I have scarce time in my schedule to commit a whole day for F1 alone. So I don't think it'd make sense to have quali and race on the same day as a standard thing.

  • 1
  • Oct 20 2019 - 14:43

Replies (1)

Login to reply
  • Not necessarily a loss of fans, however I do think many of us would have to prioritize. Even as a die hard fan, I have scarce time in my schedule to commit a whole day for F1 alone. So I don't think it'd make sense to have quali and race on the same day as a standard thing.

    • + 1
    • Oct 20 2019 - 14:43

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 03:22

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 03:22

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
14 - Mar 16
Australia
21 - Mar 23
China
4 - Apr 6
Japan
11 - Apr 13
Bahrain
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia
2 - May 4
United States of America
16 - May 18
Italy
23 - May 25
Monaco
30 - Jun 1
Spain
13 - Jun 15
Canada
27 - Jun 29
Austria
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom
25 - Jul 27
Belgium
1 - Aug 3
Hungary
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands
5 - Sep 7
Italy
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan
3 - Oct 5
Singapore
17 - Oct 19
United States of America
24 - Oct 26
Mexico
7 - Nov 9
Brazil
21 - Nov 23
United States of America
28 - Nov 30
Qatar
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
14 - Mar 16
Australia Albert Park
21 - Mar 23
4 - Apr 6
11 - Apr 13
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
2 - May 4
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
16 - May 18
23 - May 25
Monaco Monte Carlo
30 - Jun 1
13 - Jun 15
27 - Jun 29
Austria Red Bull Ring
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom Silverstone
25 - Jul 27
1 - Aug 3
Hungary Hungaroring
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
5 - Sep 7
Italy Monza
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
3 - Oct 5
17 - Oct 19
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
24 - Oct 26
7 - Nov 9
Brazil Interlagos
21 - Nov 23
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
28 - Nov 30
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team -
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country IT
  • Date of b. Apr 7 1965 (59)
  • Place of b. Merano, Italy, IT
  • Weight 0 kg
  • Length 0 m
Show full profile

Team profile

  • comments 70,991 comments on Haas
  • star 16 members have this team as their favourite
  • vote Tweets about Haas
Show full profile
show sidebar