F1 is conducting another survey for reverse grid qualifying races post the Monza hangover among other things.
The F1 Fan Voice website – designated for polls, surveys, blogs and more – kick-started a survey asking fans about reverse grid race replacing the current qualifying format to set the Sunday’s grid, at about three to four grand prix from the 22 to run.
The idea is for a 30 minutes race in reverse championship order on Saturday, whose result will set the Sunday’s F1 grand prix’s grid. This was formally introduced last year but teams did not accept the proposal – it never died down, though.
After the happenings at Monza, where AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly won from McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, F1 chief Ross Brawn ignited the topic once again, citing the example of the Italian GP – which had close resemblance of how reverse races.
It didn’t gathered good press as Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff was straight-up against it. “I don’t think that we should mess with any of the format,” he said to media including Motorsport Network, BBC, AMuS and more. “We see racing series that have tried to change formats that has historically been understood by the fans, NASCAR and the Chase comes to my mind, and I don’t think we should be messing around.
“This is not because I have a Mercedes bias. On the contrary, I like the variability and the unpredictability, and we will have races that will be very different such as the Monza race. But nobody wants a winner that has started from a reverse grid. I don’t think we should be designing freak results where it is almost impossible to overtake, just because we believe that the pecking order should be a different one.
“This is a meritocracy, this is a sport where best man and best machine wins, and this is not WWE, where the outcome is completely random. If you want to do random, let’s make it a show. But I think the core DNA of the sport is being a sport, and then an entertainment platform. It’s not a show. It’s not a reality show, and it’s not Big Brother, and I don’t think we should be going there,” summed up Wolff.
A fan survey could yet mean that Liberty Media is still considering it and with a regulation change, they may not require an unanimous agreement of getting the format change done. It asked fans specifically if they enjoyed the grand prix at Monza.
They ask if F1 should consider something and if they found it better that Lewis Hamilton had to carve his way up. Additionally, they seek to know what do they want to see in a champion, about his speed, overtaking ability, etc.
Interestingly, this is not the only survey, as they have one of F1 TV, post-Tuscan GP, Mid-Season, its official Magazine, Digital Experience and Push Notification. For the post-Mugello race, they asked about them carrying the racism message extensively.
It was even to the extent if F1 should continue with the message or not. The same was done in the Mid-Season survey as well, where they even asked about the ‘We Race As One’ message too.
Here’s the F1 Fan Voice website: https://www.f1fanvoice.com/
Here’s what Ross Brawn said about reverse grid races
