Fans Asked to Vote on Qualifying

The current single-lap format has been unsuccessful since the rules were changed with the aim of making the sport cheaper and more exciting.

The 2005 season began with two separate sessions, one on Saturday and one Sunday, with the starting grid decided on aggregate times. But that format was abandoned after six races and now only one session decides the grid.

However, the recent FIA/AMD survey, taken by over 93,000 fans, showed that around 70 percent of them prefer the old system of allowing drivers a specified number of flying laps in an hour-long session.

Now Formula One teams have come up with two different proposals and the official Formula One website has started a survey, asking fans to vote on which one they prefer.

Both proposals consist of a 60-minute session, the first split in two halves of 25 minutes with a 10-minute break in between. Drivers would be allowed to run as many laps as they wish, but must set a time in each half. Each driver's best lap from each session would be then added up to produce a final time to determine the grid.

The second system also consists of an hour-long session, but after 15 minutes the five slowest cars must retire and will qualify 16th to 20th on the grid. After another 15 minutes, the five slowest cars during that period will also retire from the session and they will qualify 11th to 15th.

During the final 30 minutes, the remaining cars will compete for the top 10 positions, based on the best times set in that period.

Both systems include no fuel restrictions, with cars allowed to be refuelled during and after the session.