Alonso and Sainz suggest return to single-lap qualifying

Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz believe a return to single-lap qualifying, as last seen in F1 in 2003, would help solve traffic issues at specific venues and boost the show on the track.

Drivers are bracing for a potentially chaotic Q1 qualifying session on Friday afternoon at the Red Bull Ring as well as in SQ1 on Saturday, given the track's fast layout and the approximately 65 seconds it takes to complete a lap.

Accommodating 20 cars out on the circuit in Q1 will inevitably complicate a driver's task of finding a clear lap.

Single-lap qualifying was last used in 2003, and Alonso is the only driver on the grid to have experienced the format.

"It is a topic every weekend, especially in short circuits," said the Aston Martin charger. "And there are [a] few options to improve this.

"One is single-lap qualifying, like in the past. That would be ideal, in my opinion, because only one car on track, [it would get] full TV coverage for that lap, for everyone’s sponsors and things like that.

"And that created a little bit of drama in case of weather changes in between qualifying, you could see in pole position different cars, different names. So that was, I think, my preferred option."

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Sitting alongside Alonso in Thursday's media conference, Sainz agreed with his countryman that there is merit to the idea of bringing back single-lap qualifying.

"The single-lap qualifying may be something to experiment with, as Fernando said, also maybe in sprint weekends to try, if it would work," said Sainz.

"I personally am a big fan of it, because I do like that feeling of suddenly having the whole track for you and having the pressure to perform in only one lap.

"That would be really good fun for us, I think for our sponsors and for everyone, but maybe for the TV it would be a bit boring for you."

To capture the attention of fans at home, the Ferrari driver suggested using modern technology to insert a virtual "ghost car" of the fastest lap which would help fans track a driver's efforts.

"I don’t know. [It] depends on the technology, you also have to animate that single lap, if you can put a ghost car of the fastest lap," he added.

"I think with the technology that we have nowadays something like that could be achievable. With the mini-sectors, with the ghost cars, with that kind of stuff that I think we should look into."

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