At next week’s Hungarian Grand Prix, qualifying will look a little different
During qualifying, teams are limited in what compounds they can use in dry conditions. Teams are required to use the hard compound during Q1, the medium compound during Q2, and finally they can use the softs during Q3.
Honestly though, what's wrong with this? Since the qualifying tire no longer matters in the race, why not do this and save a few tires? They're not really inexpensive (I don't really buy the environmental part as their reason but it's a nice bonus). It was one thing when going out on mediums in Q2 actually gave you an advantage in the race, but now there's no reason not to do it really, except for maybe that the smaller teams get less runtime on the softer compound But even then, running Q1 on hards would give the teams more knowledge of that compound, something they often cite as a reason for not using them, and maybe some teams will pick a strategy involving it, or if an early saftey car happens they'll be more confident to go the distance on hards, if possible. This also forces all teams to be good on all compounds (which is something (I think it was) Haas struggled with a few years ago. Idk I don't see any real downsides with this (even if the upsides aren't that great, might aswell do it.
Having freedom in tyre choice is how lower tier teams have a go at making into Q2 and Q3. This decision would have a significant impact in their qualifying strategy. Teams with more powerful engines and faster cars aren't going to be as affected.
"This means a reduction - from 13 to 11 - of the sets of dry tyres that each driver has available for the entire event, therefore decreasing the environmental impact generated by the production and transport of the tyres"
I wish they'd also have a rethink about the Sprint Quali format. It seems sprints are here to stay, but I really wish there were more differences between the actual race/quali and the sprint versions. They need to stand out more.
Maybe shorter sessions so you only have time for one lap and just do 10 eliminations after Q1 and then Q2 to set the top ten? I don't know, but the sprint format needs something different.
Another “win” for the fucking incompetent manifestation that is dominicali. Finding things that aren’t broke and break them. That must be his mission statement that gets him out of bed every morning.
As a general rule, when in doubt, ask what that fucktard would do and the do the exact opposite for a guaranteed win. Absolutely clown shoes. When will this idiot finally pound sand?
Not really sure I understand why this change is bad...i mean current setup is not much better, everyone just runs softs, unless it's wet. Before these changes at least tire choice impacted the race as teams in Q3 had to use same tire in race as they used in qualiy. This change is gonna screw with teams that don't do well on hards (cough merc cough).. Not sure it will hurt slower team's but probably. Anyone has data on time deltas by tire type for some teams? Is the delta larger with certain tires?
The change will reduce the amount of tire sets needed during a weekend by 2 per car. It's a (small) move towards sustainability that has very little impact in the sport itself...
If they cared about the impact of their tires on sustainability, then why require Pirelli to make tires that degrade so quickly? Just require tires that last a whole race/qualifying distance?
They already tried this. It became dangerous as drivers that clearly had tire issues would not pit as the penalty for pitting for tires was quite severe.
I want to say it is either Kimi or Mika who had a bad set of flat spotted front tires they literally shook the car apart.
I’d like to see the opposite happen, each quali run a full blown race to make it tot the next session. If they need to, handicap the top 10 from the previous race this way, not the entire field.