Button on current quali: I'd rather drive with one eye shut

Jenson Button says he is open to the proposed aggregate F1 qualifying, as the McLaren-Honda star thinks anything is better than the current knockout format.

The much-derided elimination-style system made an unpopular return for the Bahrain Grand Prix and delivered another poor spectacle that featured lengthy periods without any car on track.

Despite all teams pushing for a return to the 2015 format, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA reportedly blocked the move in a 90-minute meeting held ahead of the race.

Instead, a new proposal including aggregate times was put forward with the sport’s stakeholders set to vote on it this Thursday.

“If it's an aggregate system, I'll give it a go,” Button said. “That's all you can say. It's better than [elimination qualifying]. Anything is better than this one.

“Drivers driving around with one eye closed would be better than this one. I look forward to change, and that's what's hopefully coming.”

Button was already racing in F1 when an aggregate qualifying format was last used in the 2005 season and the concept was ditched after the first six grands prix.

As one of the directors in the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), the 2009 world champion recently signed an open letter that calls for a radical overhaul of F1’s “ill-structured” and “obsolete” decision-making progress.

While racers show a united front over the strongly statement last weekend in Sakhir, Button’s fellow GPDA chairman Sebastian Vettel has already voiced his opposition to aggregate qualifying, describing the idea as “s***”.

Bahrain Grand Prix - Quotes of the weekend

DRIVER RATINGS: Bahrain Grand Prix

GALLERY: Sakhir podium

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