Formula 1 reverts to old qualifying format

With teams, drivers and spectators criticizing the knock out style qualifying introduced this year, Formula 1 has made the official announcement to revert to the old format starting with this weekend's race, the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix.

Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, many teams and drivers rallied against the new format. In a letter to FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone, the drivers and teams requested that the knock out format be replaced with the one used last year. With the majority of the teams not in favor of the current qualifying method, Todt and Ecclestone agreed to back down.

“At the unanimous request of the teams in a letter received today, Jean Todt, President of the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone, commercial rights holder representative, accepted, in the interests of the Championship, to submit a proposal to the F1 Commission and World Motor Sport Council to revert to the qualifying format in force in 2015. This proposal, if approved by the F1 governing bodies, will take effect as from the Chinese Grand Prix and will apply for the rest of the season." said Todt.

With that, there will no longer be eliminations during the qualifying sessions. Each session, consisting of Q1, Q2 and Q3, will run uninterrupted throughout the qualifying period.