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F1's qualifying race trial unlikely for 2020

Photo: © LAT Images

F1's qualifying race trial unlikely for 2020

Not all the teams were in favour.

Formula 1 is set to shelve plans to trial qualifying races next season, amid reported opposition from the bigger teams on the grid.

As Liberty Media look to ramp up on-track excitement, it had been proposed to hold a sprint race, rather than the existing qualifying format, to decide the grid at three grands prix in 2020.

The grid for the qualifying race was to be decided by reversing the order of the drivers' championship, in theory forcing the best cars on the grid to fight through the field and raise the chances of overtaking.

However, the teams who would have been relied upon to create the excitement are widely reported to be against the idea.

Drivers had been particularly vocal in their opposition to the plans, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel branding the idea "complete bullshit".

When the proposal was put to a vote by the teams, requiring unanimous backing, it was reportedly held up by the bigger teams in the paddock.

F1's three-tiered elimination-style qualifying format was introduced in 2006 and has generally been seen as a success, despite previous efforts to tinker with it.

A hashed change in 2016, which saw drivers eliminated individually, was a farcical failure and lasted just two races, with F1 sticking to the previous format ever since.

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