Formula 1’s Managing Director of Motorsports Ross Brawn has revealed that proposals for qualifying races at select events in 2020 were vetoed by two teams.
Formula 1 had lodged a concept to introduce qualifying races, in place of qualifying, at three grands prix for 2020, understood to be France, Belgium and Russia.
The idea was that the grid for the qualifying race would be set by reverse championship order, with the result setting the starting grid for the grand prix.
Several drivers hit out at the notion and while the majority of teams favoured the concept, it did not receive the required unanimity in order to be introduced for 2020.
“The current governance system means we need unanimity to carry any decisions through to next year,” Brawn told Sky Sports.
“The teams initially said they would agree with it and then two teams put their hand up at the last meeting and said they wouldn’t agree with it.
“So we wanted to try a small number of races in 2020, a different format where, on a Saturday it was a reverse-grid format based on championship order and that short-format race would determine the grid order for the final race.
“I thought it was a fascinating contest. And the drivers were a little bit nervous, which I can understand, but we were just asking for the opportunity for three races to try the format.
“If it doesn’t work – put our hands up – if it does work, great.
“If it’s something in between we can work with, just to help us develop the format of racing, and it’s frustrating that we’ve not been able to do that but I think that’s – unfortunately – the classic problem with Formula 1.”
Formula 1 is nonetheless still poised to tweak its Friday format, with practice reduced to just the afternoon, and media activities moved to the morning from Thursday.
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