F1’s elimination qualifying format will be ditched immediately with the old system to be used from the Bahrain Grand Prix onwards.
A meeting of team managers on Sunday morning in Melbourne led to unanimous agreement to revert back to the previous qualifying format - featuring Q1, Q2 and Q3 with no elimination until the chequered flag - from Bahrain.
The new format was introduced at the start of this season, with cars being eliminated at 90-second intervals until after an initial short period of running. Despite warning from the drivers when the idea was first suggested, the new format made its debut at the Australian Grand Prix and delivered farcical scenes on Saturday.
Little running took place towards the end of Q2 as drivers were unable to fit in second runs or knew they couldn’t improve sufficiently, and pole position was decided long before the end of Q3. The poor spectacle led to criticism from fans and drivers alike, with Toto Wolff saying on Saturday night the target should be a change by the second race in Bahrain.
Christian Horner was also scathing of the new system, saying F1 should apologise to the fans for the display it provided in Australia on Saturday.
As it happened: Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix
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