How F1 created its qualifying shambles
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How F1 created its qualifying shambles

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Formula 1's qualifying revamp was controversial enough even before what appeared to be a week of indecision over what would actually happen. DIETER RENCKEN has the inside story

It proved to be an extraordinary fortnight in a global championship in which even the most bizarre comments seldom raise little more than quizzical eyebrows or nervous coughs.

The period began with Formula 1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone trashing his product in a newspaper interview, and ended with the FIA's World Motor Sport Council - F1's supreme body - issuing a media release containing words like "principles" and "should".

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