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[7UpJordan]

My 'perfect' qualifying format would be a straight 1 hour free for all, no restriction on laps, tyres or fuel. The current system seems unnecessarily complex, and the fuel regulations just add yet more confusion. Just let the cars get out there and see who's fastest!

Great idea, but sadly the words "free for all" and "no restriction" don't appear to be in Mad Max's dictionary. If he had his way, he'd decide the grid by pulling names out of a hat.

[darwin dali]

If he had his way, he'd decide the grid by pulling names out of a hat.

Which would be an interesting idea if they actually were random and not fixed

[McLaren Fan]

I don't understand the thinking behind qualifying at the moment...

We used to have a 1 hour session on Saturday, with drivers doing a maximum of 12 laps. The point was, the quickest driver took pole - even idiots like me can understand that!

The problem was nobody went out for the first 20min to save their tyres for the race, and millions of people sat around watching an empty track.

But I never understood why they didn't just address the problem of why teams weren't going out at the start. Which, to my mind, was because they had limited sets of tyres and needed to save as many for the race as possible. Limiting them to 12 laps also confused me - why? Paying spectators are there, the world is watching on TV - people want to see these cars flat out ripping up the track!

We then moved to a situation where we had guaranteed 'action' for the full time, by virtue of always having 1 car on track at 1 time... and that was the most boring thing I've ever seen. And now we have a system whereby only the last 10 minutes actually decide who will get pole position! What is confusing about this FIA people???????

My 'perfect' qualifying format would be a straight 1 hour free for all, no restriction on laps, tyres or fuel. The current system seems unnecessarily complex, and the fuel regulations just add yet more confusion. Just let the cars get out there and see who's fastest!

It certainly sounds good, but I think in sports you must have some levels of control. Having the pressure of limited tyres and laps adds pressure on the teams and drivers to get it right.

Overall, in qualifying (and the sport in general) I feel we are looking for three things: rules within which the teams and drivers must work, cars on the track to generate excitement, and knowing who really is the fastest.

Your proposed rules would solve the last two problems, but the first one would be an issue. The current system ensures we know the first two. Basically, there is no perfect system that can incorporate everything, so I think we have to weigh up which factors are the most important; but that's not as easy as it sounds: You have to ask what is sport? Is it about adherence to rules and those who do the best job within those rules win? Or have things moved on and it's about drawing fans to watch the sport?

[al4x]

i do like the fuel mix up or the last ten cause its the only thing that mixes up the grid to give overtaking, and i quite like guessing the strategies

Q2 atm is the most exciting at the end, i still think as many laps as you want in the last section with a warm up, fast lap, in lap then back to starting fuel, new tyres! people would be out all through Q3 and it could be 20 minutes

[vegas]

My 'perfect' qualifying format would be a straight 1 hour free for all, no restriction on laps, tyres or fuel. The current system seems unnecessarily complex, and the fuel regulations just add yet more confusion. Just let the cars get out there and see who's fastest!

That sounds boring. The 3 levels of qualifying is more entertaining cause its just a build up to the end. Not just 1 long event. I personally would like to see one of the qualifying sessions to include the teams performing a tire change as part of the time.

[ForzaGilles]

That sounds boring. The 3 levels of qualifying is more entertaining cause its just a build up to the end. Not just 1 long event. I personally would like to see one of the qualifying sessions to include the teams performing a tire change as part of the time.

But at the moment you've got 2 sessions where it doesn't matter who the fastest is - for me that's boring (and harder to follow when you're at the circuit). As long as the Ferraris, McLarens and BMWs don't make any major errors they can safely bang in a half decent lap and not have to worry until Q3.

I ofen skip Q1, and for me the drama doesn't come until the last 5 min of Q3... Whereas the quali of old (90s and before) was sometimes more exciting than the races - I never missed it. Watching drivers pushing themselves, with low fuel, on the limit for the whole session, was absolutely thrilling - especially later in the season when the championship was at stake.

[AKR]

If you ask me I hate this Q1, Q2, Q3 stuff. Hang on I just learnt a British word. I think its "Bollocks". Don't know how to spell it but you know what I just said. And as for the fuel restictions etc. Another thing I hate. What happened to qualifying the old fashioned way? Who gets the fastest outright lap is the pole sitter. And in the race you setup the car as you like no matter what you did in qualfying. The FIA should just bring it back like that. The idea of chaniging things was to make it closer for all teams. But at the end of the day the Ferraris and McLarens (And any other big team that is having an ok season) will still dominate. It is all just a waste of time if you ask me. Forget all this qualifying complexities and just race. And pit speed limits? I hate them too. Next are they going to have speed limits on the race track? (Just being sarcastic of course). I like no speed limits! (That includes on the motorway as well (*LOL*))

[7UpJordan]

And pit speed limits? I hate them too. Next are they going to have speed limits on the race track? (Just being sarcastic of course). I like no speed limits! (That includes on the motorway as well (*LOL*))

The pit lane speed limit was introduced in the aftermath of Imola 1994 when Michele Alboreto came charing out of the pits, a wheel fell of and knocked down some Lotus mechanics.

[AKR]

That is why motor racing is dangerous. But personally I think danger is fun. I don't disagree with the reasons behind the pit speed limit I just think it takes out some of the tensity in GP racing. I used to love it how the drivers raced each other in and out of the pits. By the way Novak Djoković of Serbia just won the 2008 Australian Tennis Open. *sigh*

[7UpJordan]

I used to love it how the drivers raced each other in and out of the pits.

They still do, even with the limiter. Take Alonso and Kimi at Canada for instance.

[al4x]

with the lack of overtaking in the gp i dont think the 1hr sessio nwould produce a very good race, it really would be teams with two cars along side each other for most of the grid, then youd get the cagy starts etc

btw
i hate the speed limits on the motorway, when ever i spot a camera its instinct to slam on the breaks, on the motorway its more dangerous than good i think

[AKR]

Al4x wrote btw
i hate the speed limits on the motorway, when ever i spot a camera its instinct to slam on the breaks, on the motorway its more dangerous than good i think

Well the way I avoid having to see the camera at the last minute is to have a GPS with the latest updates (Meaning I get told where all fixed speed cameras and red light cameras are) and also a radar/laser detector to pick up all mobile speed cameras and police with radar/laser guns. Oh and one more nice thing I have is a jammer. Jams police laser signals incase my detectors don't tell me they are there first so I can slow down. With this you can basically go fast a police car speeding and they get a 0 km/h reading back on you. *Nice* I just don't use none of these detectors outside of the city as the police are wise and have radar detector detectors. In the city this is useless for the police because with so many cars around and signals from towers they cannot determine the sauce of where my detectors signals are coming from. Oh and the point of not wanting the police to catch me with all these lovely things is because where I live they are all illegal. (Except the GPS part of course).

[al4x]

that is some nice kit,

i expect its all illegal to here in good ol england!, love the jammer!
i need a gps at some point, i got lost driving back home from sheffield the other week, i had a map, but its hard to look at while you going along! on that journey im sure one got me that i didnt see, but as yet nothings come through the post

[Martin]

that is some nice kit,

i expect its all illegal to here in good ol england!, love the jammer!
i need a gps at some point, i got lost driving back home from sheffield the other week, i had a map, but its hard to look at while you going along! on that journey im sure one got me that i didnt see, but as yet nothings come through the post

Most GPS's include camera locations now and that is legal. You can buy a gadget that is, apparently, a garage door remote controler which effectively jams Police lasers, but that is not legal. They can be found on ebay or other sites.

[andy]

I agree with most of you about the boring Q3. But also think you're all missing the point.

We don't like the fuel burn phase. Therefore, don't credit back the fuel used. Simply the teams fuel up at the beginning of Q3 and use whatever level of fuel they have left to start the race.

It may not provide the quickest lap times but makes the guessing games between teams even greater as they have the potential to only do one flying lap.