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F1 to adopt knockout qualifying system
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-25 08:56 LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Formula One will switch
to a three-phase knockout qualifying system next season after a meeting of the
Formula One Commission on Monday.
Five cars will drop out after a first 15-minute session and another five
after a second stint. The remaining 10 will then fight for pole in a 20-minute
final session.
Formula One drivers pose for a team photo
before the start of the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai October 16, 2005.
Front row (L-R) Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen, Giancarlo Fisichella,
Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Middle row
(L-R) David Coulthard, Christian Klein, Jenson Button, Takuma Sato, Jarno
Trulli, Antonio Pizzonia and Mark Webber. Back row (L-R) Narain
Karthikeyan, Tiago Monteiro, Christijan Albers, Robert Doornbos, Jacques
Villeneuve and Felipe Massa. Missing are Ralf Schumacher and Nick
Heidfeld. [Reuters] | A spokesman for the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said
the measures had been approved at a meeting of the Commission which includes all
10 teams.
Qualifying has been a subject of debate since the single-lap format was
introduced at the end of 2002 to replace the previous free-for-all session.
The current system, with each car running alone against the clock, has been
much criticised by teams and broadcasters.
Sunday qualifying was introduced this year and then abandoned after six races
following protests.
A FIA proposal for a radical new rear wing concept, designed to facilitate
overtaking, also won the support of teams for 2007 subject to further input from
their technical directors.
The Centreline Downwash Generating (CDG) Wing, formulated
with the help of the FIA's technology partner AMD, would eliminate the current
single rear wing and replace it with two box-like wings, one behind each rear
wheel.
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