Qualifying Format Unlikely to Change

FIA president Max Mosley pointed out in Spain that the only way to change the qualifying system is with unanimous agreement among all teams, something that in the current F1 environment is an even less practical proposition than in the past. To emphasise his point, a team principals meeting at Barcelona once more proceeded without the presence of Ferrari's Jean Todt.

"In my view it was a mistake," Mosley said of the current qualifying format. "It was proposed by the commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone. His idea was that this would be good for the television on Sunday morning and on that basis it was let through.

"I think everybody now realises that it was a mistake. Occasionally, mistakes are made and the difficulty now is getting it changed back because all the teams need to agree and we all know how difficult that can be."

The Barcelona team principals' meeting apparently reached precisely the same conclusion as Mosley.