Ferrari Enjoy One-Day Grand Prix

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn said the team were not faced with as many problems as they had envisaged with qualifying and racing in the same day at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

Qualifying was moved to Sunday morning after the Suzuka circuit was closed on Saturday with typhoon Ma-on set to hit the track, although the area was spared any real damaged when it changed course.

The revised schedule saw two qualifying sessions and the race crammed into seven hours on Sunday, but Brawn said the challenge had been an enjoyable one and could be a pointer towards possible format changes in the future.

"It was a different format for us and in some ways we enjoyed it because it was a different way to go racing," Brawn said at Suzuka after the race. "It wasn't that much pressure, to be honest, because there was nothing we could do.

"You get into qualifying and then the regulations state that you have got parc ferme between qualifying and the race (where you cannot touch the cars) so you cannot frantically run around because you actually cannot do anything.

"It was quite successful. I think if it were to be the format [for future race weekends], the teams would adjust a little bit more and it wouldn't be a problem. But it is a bit of an early rise on a Sunday. I don't know if qualifying on a Sunday morning is something we should have or not, but it wasn't a problem for us."

Brawn revealed that Ferrari have campaigned for a two-day race weekend and said that after unexpectedly trying out an effective one-day race weekend, there could be time for change.

"It is fair to say Ferrari have been an advocate of two-day race meetings for quite a long time," said Brawn. "We have always felt that three days might be too long and Saturday and Sunday is perfectly adequate. You can prepare on Saturday morning, qualify in the afternoon, race on Sunday or maybe have a second qualifying on Sunday morning. There are lots of things you can look at."

Race winner Michael Schumacher, however, said he would not favour a hectic Sunday at each Grand Prix despite underlining his dominance with a masterful qualifying display.

"I think that this day goes down in the history of Formula One and I am pretty sure some people will wonder whether we should continue to do it that way," said the Ferrari driver. "I have to say it was exciting but I prefer the old style.

"It's strange if all the time you think you will go straight out on Sunday morning and have to do a qualifying lap without any preparation, anything, if you had different weather conditions.

"We have a whole weekend so there is no reason to rush through and just have everything on one day, as some people wish to. That's my point of view. It puts more stress on the mechanics and the preparation."