I imagine a similar thread exists somewhere, I couldn't find one but apologies if it does exist. There was a thread suggesting more radical changes to the qualifying format, but I think in general most people, myself included, like the three session format.
The question is a) whether is is fair that drivers like Vettel at Monaco yesterday can benefit from not participating fully in qualifying and b) should we do something to stop it/improve the situation? It probably adds a bit of intrigue, but I think the drivers can legitimately feel cheesed off if someone they out qualify can just drive round them in the race because they have fresher tyres. We also see some unexpected strategies as a result, and again I can see pros and cons here. The same sort of questions could be asked about DRS - a balance has to be found between what is "fair" and what is "exciting".
I think perhaps it would be worthwhile trying to do something to improve the situation, at least to try and force all ten drivers to complete one flying lap in Q3. I can think of three ways in which the rules could be changed to try and aid this, and I've created a poll so we can see what people think. The options are:
a) Extra sets of tyres for qualifying.
This is the most common suggestion, and Pirelli themselves have said they support the idea and are ready and able to supply extra sets for the Q3 drivers, possibly even a new super-super-super soft compound! For this to fix the problem I think it's clear that the tyres should not be usable in the race, which could either be achieved by taking the extra set/s back at the end of qualifying, or using a qualifying tyre that degrades very quickly and is only useful for one flying lap.
Given the problems that the teams are having as it is with the current range of compounds, I would suggest giving an extra set of options to the teams rather than a completely new compound, and then taking this set back after qualifying. The question is then who you give the extra set too - just the Q3 drivers or to everyone?
Giving an extra set to everyone would appear to be the fairest way on the surface, as it is consistent, but would it fix the problem? I feel that the drivers likely to place 7th-10th would still be reluctant to use much rubber in Q3, and may have also taken some of the life out of the extra set by then. The Q3 drivers also complete more laps overall, so perhaps just giving the extra set to them, as is normally suggested, is the fairest and most effective method. I'm not sure whether this creates a logistical problem (there's not much time between Q2 and Q3 to distribute the extra tyres), but surely F1 could find a solution...
b) Penalties for drivers who don't set a competitive time in a qualifying session.
Initially this seemed like a good idea to me, but now I'm not so sure. My idea was that, for example, drivers who don't set a time within 107% of the fastest in ANY session get some sort of penalty. The issue is what form this penalty would take. If you start giving out grid penalties then you end up with slower drivers being artificially bumped up the grid, it would at least be a good deterrent though. But what do you do in the case of mechanical failures/crashes in qualifying? Would a team avoid penalty if they can prove the car had a genuine issue? Another idea could be that, in conjunction with c), you force drivers who don't set a competitive time to start on used tyres, or you even take one of their sets of tyres. I think taking a set of tyres sounds like the fairest punishment, and perhaps this is done irrespective of whether there was a car failure to avoid opening a can of worms.
c) Remove rule that top 10 start on the tyre they qualified on.
Unless my memory is just terrible, this rule was created in the Bridgestone era to try and create a bit of extra interest/excitement. In that case is it really necessary any more? If my memory is terrible and it's only been used in the Pirelli era, why was it introduced in the first place?
The only advantage I can see to this rule is that it means all the top 10 are starting on used tyres. if the rule is removed then you can have the situation where some drivers have new sets of options available and other don't, and in a one stop race, for example, this would seem to be a significant advantage. Overall though, it seems like a bit of an unnecessary rule and gives the strange effect of 11th/12th being somehow better than 9th/10th.
Let the voting commence! I've left the categories fairly blank, so you don't have to subscribe to my suggestions for how they could be implemented.
The question is a) whether is is fair that drivers like Vettel at Monaco yesterday can benefit from not participating fully in qualifying and b) should we do something to stop it/improve the situation? It probably adds a bit of intrigue, but I think the drivers can legitimately feel cheesed off if someone they out qualify can just drive round them in the race because they have fresher tyres. We also see some unexpected strategies as a result, and again I can see pros and cons here. The same sort of questions could be asked about DRS - a balance has to be found between what is "fair" and what is "exciting".
I think perhaps it would be worthwhile trying to do something to improve the situation, at least to try and force all ten drivers to complete one flying lap in Q3. I can think of three ways in which the rules could be changed to try and aid this, and I've created a poll so we can see what people think. The options are:
a) Extra sets of tyres for qualifying.
This is the most common suggestion, and Pirelli themselves have said they support the idea and are ready and able to supply extra sets for the Q3 drivers, possibly even a new super-super-super soft compound! For this to fix the problem I think it's clear that the tyres should not be usable in the race, which could either be achieved by taking the extra set/s back at the end of qualifying, or using a qualifying tyre that degrades very quickly and is only useful for one flying lap.
Given the problems that the teams are having as it is with the current range of compounds, I would suggest giving an extra set of options to the teams rather than a completely new compound, and then taking this set back after qualifying. The question is then who you give the extra set too - just the Q3 drivers or to everyone?
Giving an extra set to everyone would appear to be the fairest way on the surface, as it is consistent, but would it fix the problem? I feel that the drivers likely to place 7th-10th would still be reluctant to use much rubber in Q3, and may have also taken some of the life out of the extra set by then. The Q3 drivers also complete more laps overall, so perhaps just giving the extra set to them, as is normally suggested, is the fairest and most effective method. I'm not sure whether this creates a logistical problem (there's not much time between Q2 and Q3 to distribute the extra tyres), but surely F1 could find a solution...
b) Penalties for drivers who don't set a competitive time in a qualifying session.
Initially this seemed like a good idea to me, but now I'm not so sure. My idea was that, for example, drivers who don't set a time within 107% of the fastest in ANY session get some sort of penalty. The issue is what form this penalty would take. If you start giving out grid penalties then you end up with slower drivers being artificially bumped up the grid, it would at least be a good deterrent though. But what do you do in the case of mechanical failures/crashes in qualifying? Would a team avoid penalty if they can prove the car had a genuine issue? Another idea could be that, in conjunction with c), you force drivers who don't set a competitive time to start on used tyres, or you even take one of their sets of tyres. I think taking a set of tyres sounds like the fairest punishment, and perhaps this is done irrespective of whether there was a car failure to avoid opening a can of worms.
c) Remove rule that top 10 start on the tyre they qualified on.
Unless my memory is just terrible, this rule was created in the Bridgestone era to try and create a bit of extra interest/excitement. In that case is it really necessary any more? If my memory is terrible and it's only been used in the Pirelli era, why was it introduced in the first place?
The only advantage I can see to this rule is that it means all the top 10 are starting on used tyres. if the rule is removed then you can have the situation where some drivers have new sets of options available and other don't, and in a one stop race, for example, this would seem to be a significant advantage. Overall though, it seems like a bit of an unnecessary rule and gives the strange effect of 11th/12th being somehow better than 9th/10th.
Let the voting commence! I've left the categories fairly blank, so you don't have to subscribe to my suggestions for how they could be implemented.
