Start, Mugello, 2020

“F1 is not WWE”: All 20 drivers give their views on reverse-grid qualifying races

2020 F1 season

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Formula 1’s goal of introducing reverse-grid qualifying races at a limited number of rounds in 2020 looks increasingly unlikely to happen as several teams have indicated they will not support it.

It’s not a popular idea among the drivers, either. Since the proposal was first mooted 12 months ago, all 20 of the current field have given their thought on it, and few had anything positive to say about this idea.

While not all of the current F1 drivers were entirely critical of the idea, most were. The few who spoke up in favour of it did so from a position of being open to new ideas, rather than sharing a conviction that it would be a change for the better.

Whether F1 does replace qualifying sessions at some races next year with reverse-grid sprint races is ultimately not down to the drivers. If it was, the idea would clearly never get off the ground.

Lewis Hamilton

The six-times world champion has consistently criticised the idea, saying last year the people behind it “don’t really know what they’re talking about.”

The fact that now they’re trying a reverse grid and all that it just seems to me like, it feels like an excuse for not doing a good enough job in the decision process.

Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Sochi Autodrom, 2020
“I just like fair racing” – Bottas
His Mercedes team mate has similar views on the subject:

It’s a bit unfair at times because we know some tracks how difficult it can be to overtake and maybe that would make you play some games – within qualifying or a qualifying race. I just like fair racing and may the best man win. As we are now I’m pretty comfortable with that current format.

Sebastian Vettel

Probably the strongest critics of the proposal among the drivers, Vettel called the plan “complete bullshit” last year, and explained his views in full recently:

I think it’s completely wrong. Obviously it’s a testimony that if you are pushing in that direction, a testimony that you failed to come up with regulations and tools that bring the field more together and make racing better on the track.

I mean, as a reminder, we had new front wing regulations which cost everybody a fortune, but ultimately haven’t changed much in terms of racing. I think it would be wrong.

Obviously the hopes are on 2022 I guess for the regulation changes. I think we need to fix that and address the main points rather than trying to play the lottery.

I think it’s just against the element of sport and competition. As a competitor, I think as much as I don’t like other people to win, I have to accept if other people win or do a better job. Therefore I think it would be wrong in the name of sport to try and mix things up that way.

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Charles Leclerc

Reverse-grid qualifying races might at least give Ferrari a chance to start near the front on a Saturday, but Leclerc is no keener than Vettel:

I don’t think it’s the solution for Formula 1. I think the best should win and start in the best place and not reversing that order.

Max Verstappen

Verstappen says reverse grid races are not what F1 should be
Last year Max Verstappen said he and other drivers had told the sport’s bosses they didn’t want F1 to looking like “American wrestling” – a theme which others have echoed.

I don’t like it. It’s just artificial and trying to create a show which I think it’s not what Formula 1 stands for.

It’s just not my thing. The fastest car should be in the front. That’s what everyone works for. So why would you try and manipulate the show? And at the end of day, probably cars will end up in the same position anyway.

But it’s just not what Formula 1 is about. It needs to be about pure performance. That’s what you work for, you want to be the most dominant and competitive team out there, you want to start on the first row. So I don’t like it.

Alexander Albon

Those pushing for reverse-grid sprint races have seized on the recent Italian Grand Prix, claiming the lively Monza race presented a strong case for the proposal, Albon is not convinced:

I think what makes racing so special as well is races like Monza don’t happen often and it takes quite a lot of circumstances for things like that to happen. But that’s what makes them races so special.

It will not be special any more if a car that’s not supposed to be there is. It might take that part away from it. So I’m happy with how it is. I think we’ve got good racing. At the end of day, I’m also not too fussed about it.

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault, Sochi Autodrom, 2020
Reverse grid races could devalue winning, Ricciardo warned
Ricciardo expressed much the same view as Albon:

Personally my fear with going down this direction is, you see the last few races we’ve had some red flags and it’s mixed up the field at times and that’s been really exciting. But that’s also been organic. There’s been incidents in the race and that was the outcome of a situation.

I’m just worried if we add it an artificial way and mix up the field and then every driver’s then getting an F1 win, does the value of an F1 win hold what it does today? So I think that’s where it’s going to be, that fine line and that balance. That’s my kind of reservation with the first thought of it.

It’s tough because we want more exciting races but it’s still Formula 1 and everyone holding the big trophy, it should hold a certain level of value and maybe that would be diminished somewhat with a reverse grid.

Esteban Ocon

Ocon has experience of reverse grid races from Formula 3, but isn’t sure it should be applied to F1:

Of course, to win a grand prix is something very, very special. And there’s been a lot of stuff that’s for sure happened in the last couple of races [that] have made the races exciting.

But I’ve been racing in other categories where they have this reversed grid. It mixes up the pack but I think still the most important [thing] is to close the cars together. Not obviously have difference so much between the performance of the cars. This is something that has been getting better throughout the years.

I remember starting in 2016, there was a much bigger spread in the grid. It’s now a lot closer in the midfield. Someone that has a really good weekend can be near the top five or right there. So I think still getting closer cars is the most important and I would definitely prefer that than having artificial stuff on the grids.

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Romain Grosjean

Under the current championship standings Grosjean would start a reverse grid race from pole position. That doesn’t make him a fan of the idea.

I still don’t like it. Even though we’d start on pole, I don’t like it.

I think the midfield battle – sorry to say, but once you remove the Mercedes and Max Verstappen – the battle is going on absolutely flat-out and it’s mega. So I guess the solution for me is somewhere else. We just need to find a solution that the cars are more together in terms of performance.

Mercedes has been doing an incredible job for many years now and if everything stays the same for next year I still see them being world champions and probably Lewis being eight-times world champion, which will be very incredible. But I think to me it’s more that we need to bring the field together rather than trying reverse grid and things like that because, I don’t know, it just doesn’t fit quite what I’ve been growing up with and what I’d like to see in Formula 1.

Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen, Haas, Monza, 2020
Magnussen wants ‘best man wins’
Magnussen thinks the current qualifying format is “fantastic” and doesn’t want it to be replaced:

It’s not really the DNA of Formula 1. I think that it should be the best man, whoever performs the best gets the best result. Not putting the guy behind in front and that’s, I think it should be the best man wins.

Carlos Sainz Jnr

While Sainz is sceptical of the idea, and has eloquently argued F1 should wait to see the outcome of its coming overhaul of the technical rules before making further changes, he is one of few drivers who indicated he’d be happy to experiment with it:

I’m undecided. I am a bit curious to know what would happen in F1 with reverse grid races. I think I have that curiosity to potentially try it one day and see how it goes and see how it spices up things and what happens with Formula 1 in general once you introduce that format.

But at the same time, if you have the example of the Monza race where I was catching Pierre and the midfield was actually leading the race, it got a lot of excitement and it got a lot of followers by seeing how exciting was the Monza race. The race that I had against Pierre, against Lando [Norris], against Lance [Stroll], that is how every race – weekend in weekend out – we have [is].

We’re always battling in the midfield, we’re always overtaking each other, we always have small margins. It’s just that in Monza it got notices because we were fighting for a race win and everyone loved it.

Carlos Sainz Jnr, McLaren, Monza, 2020
Sainz is “curious” how the plan would work
So it makes me think at the same time that we don’t need to change anything and we just need to make all the teams come closer and have races like we had in Monza, which is the way that I’ve been racing for the last five years in Formula 1. The crazy midfield battles that there is overtaking going on until the last laps and strategies and so on.

So it makes me think that the current format with closer racing and closer car performance would be perfectly OK, potentially, in 2022, if we manage to get the field closer, and you will get a lot of Monza races. But with Lewis, with Valtteri, with Ferrari, hopefully, McLaren and company. But at the same time, I’m like, why not try once a reverse grid race and see what would happens.

Lando Norris

Norris is also willing to wait until 2022 to decide if any other changes are needed:

I don’t think anything needs to change. And I don’t think creating reverse grid qualifying, or races or whatever, is the key to making a much better show. I think the rule change in 2022 with the different car regulations is going to be the biggest change and the biggest factor.

I don’t think it necessarily means if you swap everyone around, it’s going to create an amazing show for everyone and it’s going to be much better. And I don’t think it’s necessarily how Formula 1 should be. If you’re leading it’s because you’ve done the best job and that’s why you deserve to be. I don’t think you should get punished or put in a position necessarily because you’re doing a better job than other teams.

It could be something introduced as an extra, I’m not too sure. It’s a difficult one because I like how we have it now it’s very simple, it’s very outright. You have qualifying, you have the race and it’s a very defined place. If you win, it’s because you’ve done the best or you got a bit lucky or something. I’m not too sure, but I don’t think this is something to try and make up for the lack of racing sometimes or the lack of overtaking.

I don’t think it’s the answer to sorting out the problems we have in F1 at the moment. I think it’s just something to make people a bit more excited about something that could, but I don’t think from my side that it’s the answer.

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Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez, Racing Point, Sochi Autodrom, 2020
Perez echoed Wolff’s “F1 is not WWE” warning
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff likened the reverse-grid qualifying race plan to something from World Wrestling Entertainment, a view which struck a chord with Perez:

I saw a comment from Toto Wolf on this one. He said that Formula 1 is not WWE. And I agree.

I think the problem Formula 1 has is the differences across teams that they’re working very hard to fix for 2022. Hopefully that happens.

I don’t think Formula 1 needs such an artificial thing to mix the race. I don’t think if you win a race on a reverse grid it’s going to be the same feeling as getting a grand prix victory. So I don’t think that’s a good idea for the sport.

Lance Stroll

Stroll has predicted a sprint race would be “really boring” given F1’s current rules, and doesn’t like the reverse grid element either:

I’m not a fan of it. I think it’s artificial. I think Saturday is just as exciting for the fans and for us drivers as Sunday. I think the root problem is the difference in pace between the teams and that’s what’s causing these predictable victories by the same few drivers every weekend. So I think the aim is really to fix that and hopefully that’s what’s going to happen in ’22 because reverse grid races, I don’t see that as being a real fix to the problem.

Kimi Raikkonen

Raikkonen believes regular qualifying offers more excitement
Always economical with his words, Raikkonen’s view is short and to the point:

It depends obviously how they would do it but probably the qualifying can be more exciting than a short race.

Antonio Giovinazzi

Giovinazzi is among the small group of drivers who indicated they’d be happy to see the plan introduced – with some reservations:

I did enjoy reverse grids when I was racing in GP2: they always produced a lot of action and rewarded drivers who knew how to overtake and deal with traffic. That format, however, was best suited to two races per weekend and I am not sure that would be the best solution for Formula One. You would miss out on a lot of the atmosphere and uniqueness of a grand prix.

I think the sport is right in trying to find ways to make the races more spectacular and I’d be happy to see some ideas trialled in the future, but this can’t come at the expense of other things that make fans tune in to watch a race.

Daniil Kvyat

Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri, Sochi Autodrom, 2020
Kvyat dismissed reverse grid races as a “Band-Aid”
Both AlphaTauri drivers were clear in their criticism of the plan. Kvyat believes it wouldn’t change a great deal:

Of course reverse grid could create potentially a bit more spectacle in the short term, but it’s more of a Band-Aid on a more global problem. That at the moment, there is a couple of teams dominating. And even if I think they start from eighth or 10th like if we adopt Formula 2 system, they will be first and second within 10 laps again. So it will not really change a lot in that regard. It might create more confusion, who knows.

But it would be a lot more exciting if we just bring performance of all teams even within one second region, that would be perfect. Like we see often in Moto GP it’s very unpredictable who might win, who might not win and so on.

Pierre Gasly

Gasly was slightly warmer on the idea, but like Kvyat sees a better solution to the problem F1 is trying to tackle:

I must say I’m not a big fan of this reverse grid. I think the main thing is trying to get the cars in a much closer performance window all together. I think if we had cars all within five or six tenths and I think already you could see a lot better racing.

Because the racing in the midfield is quite exciting. You see the battle between the Renault and the Racing Point, McLaren, Haas, Alfa. And it’s quite exciting, the only problem is that we can’t keep up with the Red Bulls, we don’t keep up with the Mercedes and they are the podium contenders.

It’s difficult to say if it will be good. Maybe it’s worth trying but I think the priority is really trying to make sure that all teams are within a certain window of performance.

George Russell

George Russell, Williams, Sochi Autodrom, 2020
Russell is open to the idea but not entirely convinced
Having previously dismissed the idea on the grounds it would make the Williams drivers look “stupid”, Russell has softened his position slightly, but his suspicion it may prove “a bit of a joke” doesn’t exactly scream confidence in the idea:

I’m 50-50. I still think the Mercedes would win. I think would be really interesting in the midfield, because the pace between all of those cars is so close, separated by a tenth or two, you’d suddenly find the guys on the back end of that pace, find themselves really in the points because the cars behind aren’t quick enough to overtake, even though they are quick.

So I think I’m happy to try things. We’ve got to try things. You live, you learn, you try things. It could be exciting and it might be a bit of a joke, but maybe we can try it once.

Nicholas Latifi

As with many of his peers, Latifi fears reverse grid qualifying races would detract both from the sport’s heritage and from the occasional races which naturally produce unpredictable results:

It kind of takes away from the DNA of how Formula 1 always is, and just racing in general, that you always have the fastest guys starting at the front.

The only way I would be for it is if it wasn’t obviously the main race. Like in the junior championships, Formula 2 and Formula 3, you have your ‘feature’ race and then you have a more ‘sprint’ race which, if you are one of the guys who’s in the reverse grid, it’s kind of more of like a fun race for you to try and enjoy unless you’re still trying to score points.

Obviously when the races is shook up like it was in Monza it does create a lot of excitement and I guess opportunity to a lot of other people and it’s great for the fans. But at the same time if races like that are happening every race then are those kind of results going to be diluted that it’s that kind of mixed up order happening all the time?

It was great, not just [Monza], but when you’ve had races like Brazil last year as well where you have quite a different-looking podium, when they happen every once in a while, it just draws so much attention which is amazing for the sport and amazing for the guys that are in that opportunity. If it’s to happen every race it might not have the same appeal.

2020 F1 season

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54 comments on ““F1 is not WWE”: All 20 drivers give their views on reverse-grid qualifying races”

  1. So reverse grids it will be then.. ;)

    1. I guess, as Ross Brawn will be encouraged by the positive response by participants in the “driver survey” conducted by the commission looking into spicing things up.

    2. I just got an email from the F1 fan voice telling me the results of the survey. The results of the leading questions and the way it is skewed is a disgrace, you are right sadly @balue.

      1. @john-h Yes it was almost comical. No mention of the actual vote on reverse grids itself, just stats that showed how fans loved the Italian GP and how that ‘feedback will play an important part in any discussions on reverse-grid qualifying being trialled in the future’.

      2. Exactly @balue. I feared the worst when I clicked on the link and it lived up to expectations (even right down to the crappy low resolution graphics that remind me of Bernie trying to design a website!)

  2. But WWE is largely scripted so that’s more similar to how things are now?
    Reverse grids would be neither pure sport or scripted entertainment. Just a rather sad mess by a sport that is currently more “Kirk Lazarus” than it is Dwayne Johnson or Magic Johnson.

    1. Nah putting this in is a gimmick no better then formula e fan boost

  3. I would simply say to all and sundry…If you ensure that the fastest combination of car and driver always start from pole position that virtually ensures that they will rarely be challenged and boredom is embedded. Mercedes is the single most example of this. They are rarely challenged let alone beaten. How boring is that? Yes, Mercedes are super successful but just look at the resources that support them…2000 personnel and budgets the size of some country’s GDP!!! Yes, the others have not been so successful but that is really no argument. What i’m all for is to test this system and see what happens. Prior to this latest push Mercedes were vehemently against it. Why? because anything that presents a challenge to their hegemony will be ruthlessly opposed.

  4. I see that the general consensus among drivers is that 2022 is the main hope for everyone getting chances, but I’m not too optimistic.

    Some teams are obviously going to spend the same amount more efficiently than others and I fear that the gap between in 2022 will widen up once again. Then we would need to wait a few more years after that for the teams to be close again.

    We already have a great scarp in the field, excluding Mercedes. I’m convinced if the budget cap is introduced for this generation cars, we would see around 5-6 teams fighting for the win in 2-3 years time.

  5. Yep, let the drivers become rulemakers rather than be participants.
    And then watch these very drivers complaining about their million dollar salaries and racing machinery taking a sizeable hit.
    There is a reason owners get the final say, whatever that may be.

    1. Not sure the owners should either ! Imagine Man Utd vetoing a rule change by UEFA !!

  6. No other sport gives the competitors with better equipment a huge head start or advantage like F1 does. Lining them up in qualifying order was an arbitrary decision 70 years ago which has led to mostly processsional races for 70 years.

    F1 needs a reverse wdc position grid sprint race. It also need to keep low fuel qually. Add the results of both to form the grid.

    That will increase tv and live spectator viewership on both Saturday and Sunday. It will keep the championships alive longer even when there is a dominant car/team/driver. And it will provide a more exciting product. The fast driver/car combos should be able to get to the front after about 2 hours of racing.

    Theoretically, a driver can win the championship now without having to pass a single other car on track, that is absurd, and that is how you get fraudulent, incomplete drivers as multi champs like Vettel.

  7. I agree with most of them in principle, many good points, especially Latifi’s about having more unpredictable-than-usual races every once in a while vs. having these types of races regularly.

  8. So basically the pressure is on to make sure that the 2022 cars are actual racing cars, then.
    If they aren’t sufficiently better than the last 7 years of garbage, where does that leave F1?

    I still seriously don’t see any decent reason not to run a few reverse grid qualifying races next year (just to prove that is sucks, if nothing else) but I completely agree with everyone everywhere about the bigger issue – F1 should have racing cars, not just fast cars.

    1. On the Marbles
      2nd October 2020, 8:28

      They are “actual racing cars” just now, it’s just that one team are much better at designing and building an “actual racing car” than the others. F1 has already introduced a new set of restrictions to try and drag them down and drag others up so it would make sense to allow those to have their effect alongside the new tech specs for 2022 rather than introduce some entirely contrived grid punishment for the fastest driver and car combos.

  9. Freaking thank you, it worries me an idea as stupid as this one made it this far

  10. Keep the existing qualifying (just shorten it a bit) and the existing race format for the purists, and add a half distance sprint race on Saturday afternoons for half championship points and more entertainment.
    No reverse grids, just draw the starting grid at random for the first race of the year, then reverse that for the sprint race at the second GP. Draw the third sprint race at random and reverse that grid for the fourth etc etc. Think it will be a lot of fun, and the purists get the existing format too.

  11. Just hoping this doesnt revive from death.

  12. What would you think of a formation based on a lottery?

    1. How about just a lottery? Skip the sport alltogether.

  13. Yeh we get it. DRS fine and pure. Trial reverse grid, its Saturday afternoon wrestling. Couldn’t be clearer. Move the %$%$ on

    1. tony mansell, I can only assume your behaviour at this point is to deliberately troll, since there has been a large number of people here arguing for the removal of DRS, and indeed the wider fan base still generally sees DRS as a band aid solution that they’d rather see gone.

      Only you seem to be pushing this idea of “DRS fine and pure” as your way of rather clumsily trying to bludgeon people into accepting the reverse races you seem to be spamming this forum with – though, to be frank, your behaviour is such that you come across as the sort of person who would want DRS.

      1. I guess you stay anon for a reason. Grow some then pop back. I don’t talk to anonymouses

  14. I have been strongly against reverse grids, a good analogy that has been used has been like forcing Usain Bolt to wear clogs.
    Its not really the same however. To extend the analogy, the current formula 1 qualifying format would be like allowing Usain Bolt to start 10 feet in front of everyone else because he ran faster in the heats. Of course its more complicated in car racing because we cant have all competitors staring in the same position as the track is not wide enough (although that would make an exciting first lap!).
    I’m not sure what the answer is, I’m still not in favour of reverse grids but I am beginning to see an inbuilt problem in producing exciting motor races by assessing the competitors and allowing them to start in order of performance.

    1. Its more like all sprinters forced to wear iron clogs. But mercedes clogs are the lightest one. We still never know who’s actually the fastest sprinter :D

    2. Starting them in qualifying order isn’t a problem in and of itself – actually it makes perfect sense when every car and driver has equal chance of success.
      But in F1, it isn’t like that. Giving the fastest car the best position will usually lead to a foreseeable result – they are the fastest, they start at the front and they drive away uncontested.
      A reverse grid qualifying system – while certainly far from ideal – really only changes the start positioning, not the potential of the car or driver. The Mercs are still way faster than everyone else and will still probably win most GPs, but they’d just need to earn it on each and every Sunday that they used that format.
      As viewers, we get a better race to watch. Nothing wrong with qualifying as it is currently, except that it typically exacerbates the performance imbalance and contributes to poor races.

      Anyway, I reiterate – it’s only for a few events next year until the new 2022 technical regulations are introduced.
      I’ve never seen any word from Brawn or anyone else (except some posts from opponents of the idea here) suggesting that the format would be used in 2022.

  15. Ah, the fun police.

  16. Everyone seems to misunderstand the purpose of reverse grids. It’s not trying to get the slow drivers to win races, it’s trying to get the fast drivers to put some effort in to win races. At the moment Hamilton will get pole, lead from the front and just control the race, taking care of his tyres etc and only doing quick laps around the pit stops. In a reverse grid Hamilton would still win the race, but he would be forced to drive flat out every lap until he gets back to the front, overtaking lots of cars in the process.

    I also don’t get some of the comments, they’re proposing only trying this out at 4 tracks and the ones that are usually very boring and only for 2021. Great if 2022 cars produce better racing, but why not just try this for 4 races in 2021. Even if it does work and they produce great races, it doesn’t mean they have to use it in 2022, and if they have faith in their rules they shouldn’t. But we could get 4 potentially amazing races in the mean time (even if they’re not we at least don’t get 4 potential bore fests).

  17. Unchanged driver lineup for a maximum of 2 years.
    Will the teams/drivers agree to this sporting rule atleast?
    Maybe even 3 car teams if possible.

  18. Vote on this genuine qualifying concept guys & gals: The Team with the lowest points at the end of a season produces 22 extra cars for its following season, which F1 Commercial pay the extra costs of manufacture. The 11 teams all have 2 of the said cars but can livery them to its team name and sponsor colours etc, but the cars are the same. The drivers qualify in the said cars. Sunday, teams resort to racing in its own race cars. STRENGTHS: Drivers and Engineers can demonstrate their skills in set-up and qualifying the same car as everyone else. For example if Hamilton has a bad day and qualifies 10th, he still has a chance to demonstrate his skills in recovering on Sunday in the team car. The team producing the 22 cars gains exposure and £$ for the build helping them develop their cars also. It’s a win, win situation for everybody, most importantly the fans!

    1. Josh (@canadianjosh)
      1st October 2020, 18:29

      Dumbest thing Ive ever read on here.

      1. Josh (@canadianjosh)
        1st October 2020, 18:31

        Sorry, shouldn’t have said dumbest but wacky man.

        1. You were right
          It’s wacky and very dumb
          Let’s make F1 great again…

          Now dump DRS

          “The Dumbest Racing Solution” or DRS as it is known by DEDICATED racing fans.

          It’s more Stoopider than reverse grids

        2. But why is it dumb? Surely it would be exciting to see drivers qualifying in the same car, albeit in their own livery?

  19. English isn’t my first language, But Bottas said ‘may the best man win’, sounds like about personal achievement, well its true that he’s only competing with other Mercedes driver :D

  20. Josh (@canadianjosh)
    1st October 2020, 18:27

    Some things are destined for change such as the engines, the rules/designs, drivers but certain things should remain the same and for me that is waking up Saturday morning and watching Q1,Q2 and Q3 with my coffee. Leave it alone Ross.

  21. What i don’t get is if they ever became a thing, what’s to stop the slower teams driving in formation, eg as team mates to block the faster cars. What’s to stop tactics evolving where by the slower teams ‘cooperate with each other’ to keep the faster cars behind them? We’ve had a glimpse of this ‘mutual cooperation’ in Italy. What’s to prevent something on a grander scale to rob what little virtue remains in this sport?

  22. …if this ever became a thing…

  23. Ajaxn let’s start a campaign where fans promise to cut Off their cable systems.
    Within weeks FORMULA ONE will submit to the threat.
    When fans in mass say change this idea Formula One or we will stop watching and will not buy any products of sponsors. I garondamntee it

    1. Count me in. If this gets tested next year ill switch off sports package and boycott any season with reverse grid races or any other tosh they come up with.

      1. Sure you would….

    2. I stopped watching last year but they didn’t miss me.

      1. Finally two show their think tanks are working.
        Who wants to join in and threaten FormulaOne with intention of ending dumb ideas that impact MY FormulaOne.
        To Jonathon and RocketTankski thank you for understanding.

        1. Remember our strength comes from avoiding corporate sponsors products.
          Do that effectively and The dumb rules WILL get changed

  24. I think Vettel and Hamilton nailed it. Reverse qualifying grids are a band-aid solution to a “problem” that the FIA have taken a few swings at and missed. Further to that, it makes me think that Brawn knows that the 2022 changes are not going to have the desired effect and is hoping for something to fall back on.

    1. They are going to do it anyway. We fans are a minority. Only audience numbers count. They’re just giving us a heads up. Wheels already in motion

  25. Formula One should always and only be based on merit, both for car and driver. You earn your position on the grid with the best lap time you can produce, and your race points with the best race you can deliver, with the equipment at your disposal. That’s it. No gimmicks, no tricks, no fakery.

    1. What you have written should be read by every single person who follows F1.
      I admire your words and wish I could say so much as you said by saying so little. You got it man. You understand. Please write more often so others can be inspired
      Thanks again

  26. Make the cars able to run close, make them challenging to drive so driver ability and focus will have real outcomes and just let them race the way they’ve always raced. This artificiality isn’t that far off Bernies random sprinkler idea. Make the racing competitive and fun, don’t reverse the grid just so we see Hamilton overtake a bunch of slower cars as expected.

    I’m happy to see this seemingly fall by the wayside. Hopefully with Domenicalli in charge we will see the focus on things the fans and drivers and teams care about and less on how to turn the sport into a purely entertainment driven spectacle. The entertainment should be natural, not forced and if it’s forced then they’ve not got anyone to blame but themselves. Hopefully 2022 brings big positive changes for the racing.

  27. Grosjean’s comment is about the best summary of the 2020 season: “Once you remove the Mercedes and Max Verstappen, the battle is going on absolutely flat-out and it’s mega”

    1. @matthijs Quite so. Imagine if this was regular F1. Then all you’d actually need to do was to remove the rubbish tracks, fix the stewarding and it would be great.

  28. On the Marbles
    2nd October 2020, 8:33

    Strangely I rarely ever see anyone mention the safety aspect of thaking all of the fastest cars and shoving them at the back of the grid where they have to work their way past numerous slower cars and possibly less capable or experienced drivers. It’s all very well on the occasions that one of the fastest starts at the back due to grid penalties, but shoving them all at the back seems like significantly increasing the chance of an incident. Surely this is one of many historic reasons the fastest car/drivers start from the front, otherwise they could just draw from a hat for start position and be done with it

  29. Okay, reverse-grid one seems unfair. But, just my thought, we place the grid like divided by teams in 1-10 and 11-20, on basis of qualifying times. So each member of the team will not be in same category. As in, if Max ends with fastest and placed P1, Checo will be placed in 11-20 group, and would be placed according to the timings there. Now if, the front rows looks like MAX HAM BOT PER, now as BOT and PER has more time than their teammates, they take P11 and P12. To make it more interesting, if LAN is P3 and RIC is slower than him but faster than BOT and PER, he takes P11. This will give being in a team more reason, and the points table will be more competitive. Flaws, accidents. And in worst case scenario, HAAS get P10 at grid as a gift. But yeah, just an idea, open to discussion. 👍

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