Teams Vote on New Two-Day Qualifying Plan

Formula One could have a new two-day qualifying format next season with the second session held on the morning of the race and the starting grid decided by aggregate times.

An International Automobile Federation (FIA) spokesman said on Wednesday that team bosses preparing for Sunday's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix and representatives of race promoters and sponsors had been asked to vote on the proposals by Friday.

"The request for a fax vote has gone out today to the Formula One commission," he said.

The proposed 2005 qualifying would retain the single-lap format and rely on aggregate times. After a session on Saturday, teams could refuel and change settings for a second run on Sunday, with no further modification allowed before the race.

The changed format has already been approved by FIA's World Motor Sport Council with the backing of commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, a strong critic of current qualifying.

At present qualifying takes place on Saturday afternoon with a preliminary session followed immediately by each driver doing a single lap to determine the grid. There have been calls for change since the start of the season, with broadcasters and fans panning the newly-introduced format as overly long and tedious.

While one attempt to overhaul the system failed in mid-season, this month's typhoon-hit Japanese Grand Prix concentrated minds. The risk of high winds and torrential rain forced organisers to close the Suzuka circuit on the Saturday and postpone qualifying to the morning of the race for the first time.

That experience led to calls for Grands Prix to be condensed into two days from three to cut costs and give fans more for their money.