The qualifying session has changed once again, and below is the lowdown on how the 2006 grids will be decided. It is going to be a little more complex this year, so bear with me as I attempt to explain this…
Qualifying will take place on a Saturday afternoon, and will consist of one session. This qualifying period will determine the start positions of each car for the race on the following day. The qualifying session is split into three parts.
PART ONE
All 22 cars will have to set a lap time within a 15 minute window. Drivers can set as many laps as they like, and they can run whatever fuel-load they wish.
At the end of this session, the bottom six drivers (those with the slowest laptimes) will be illiminated from the rest of the qualifying period and the times they set will be final. These drivers will make up the last 3 rows on the grid. They may re-fuel before the race itself on Sunday.
SHORT BREAK
PART TWO
The remaining 16 cars will have to set another lap time within the next 15 minute window. Drivers can set as many laps as they like, and they can run whatever fuel-load they wish.
At the end of this session, the bottom six drivers (those with the slowest laptimes from this session) will be illiminated from the rest of the qualifying period and the times they set will be final. These drivers will make up the next 3 rows on the grid, just ahead of the previous drivers. They may re-fuel before the race itself on Sunday.
SHORT BREAK
PART THREE
The final 10 cars will have to set another lap time within the next 20 minute window. Drivers can set as many laps as they like, and they can run whatever fuel-load they wish in this final session, but crucially, whatever fuel they start this session with will be the fuel-level that they start the race. The cars will be weighed before the session, and their tanks will be topped up after the session to match the fuel-levels.
At the end of this session, the top 10 places are secured and the grid is complete.
If a driver does not manage to complete a lap, they will be placed last in the session. I think this means that if (for example) Fernando Alonso sets the fastest time in PART ONE, but spins and stalls his car in PART TWO, he will end up being placed 16th on the grid. I will need to check into that though.
I personally find this format a little too complex, especially for new fans who may be joining us this year. But, I am hoping it will be an improvement over the one-lap shoot-outs that we have had to endure for last few seasons.
Any questions? No, good! Class dismissed.
