Why the reversed-grid races proposal won't go away

While there was a sense of disappointment this week from some teams that a proposal for reversed-grid qualifying race experiments had fallen away because of resistance from Mercedes, don't think for a second that the idea is dead.

The unique circumstance prompted by the coronavirus-impacted calendar, where F1 will hold back-to-back races at select venues, was certainly the perfect opportunity to try new things.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner is right that there should be some concern that a second event, at the same track with the same cars, may hold the risk of delivering a repeat result that will offer little to entice fans.

"I don't see quite the appeal being as large to tune in to a rerun of effectively the same event one week later," he said.

Mercedes' reservations are obvious as, in a year it wants to help Lewis Hamilton deliver a record-equalling seventh world championship, it doesn't want to find its efforts derailed by what it will feel is a random gimmick thrown in its way. With F1's rules structure being pretty clear that changes to the sporting regulations at this stage require unanimous support, for now Mercedes as a lone voice is enough to stop such ideas being realised.

There has long been a sense, though, that F1's owner Liberty Media is eager to shake up the format and move the championship away from being too formulaic.

Although the reversed-grid qualifying race idea has been rejected again, just as it was last year when first proposed, it was really no surprise to hear F1 CEO Chase Carey say that he still wanted to evaluate format tweaks going forward.

"We'll continue to look at ideas," he said. "We want to make sure they're not gimmicks. I think we always want to be challenging ourselves and [looking at whether] there other things we can do to make the sport better."

While such hopes of getting format experiments to happen right now appear slim because of the unanimity requirement, it's important to remember that the situation changes when a new Concorde Agreement comes into force from 2021.

At some point it appears inevitable that the topic of reversed grid trials will return, whether it be 2022 or even the year after

Although not yet agreed and formally signed off by all teams, it has been an open secret that a new governance structure is being put forward to release F1 from the handcuffs of the unanimity issue.

The new structure being proposed compromises of 10 votes each for teams, for F1 and for the FIA. Changes for the following year would require a 'simple' majority of 25, whereas more immediate rule changes require support from a 'super' majority of 28. This effectively means that if there are rule changes that the F1 and the FIA are both fully supportive of, then one or two lone voices among the teams would not be enough to stop them happening.

Earlier this year, that plan came under scrutiny as it was viewed as a way of preventing teams from exploiting loopholes in the rules, because rivals would be able to move swiftly to change the regulations and cut them off. Now though, the same avenue is there to push through with format experiments like reversed grids that F1 and the FIA, plus a majority of teams, are eager to see.

Speaking to F1 managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn earlier this year, he was well aware that there was an element of frustration that teams were so reluctant to try things because they were only worried about the downside.

Brawn says that, just as handing out a point for fastest lap divided opinion before it was introduced last year and is now accepted positively, the only way to prove something works is to actually have it happen.

"What you discover is a dynamic in this that you can never measure or simulate or model," he said. "We've seen it with the fastest lap. When we talked about a point for fastest lap, there was a lot of criticism. But I don't think anyone would criticise it now, because and in fairness, there is more uptake than we thought it would have.

"This is why it's all about governance. With governance, we needed everyone to agree [to a race format tweak] and we couldn't get everyone to agree. And that was frustrating because it was low risk.

"For fans, some of them would have hated it, and would have said so. But that's part of being in a sport, isn't it? When the video referee goes against you, it is a shitty system. When it gets you a goal, it is a great system."

At some point then, once the governance process allows, it appears inevitable that the topic of reversed grid trials will return - whether it be 2022 or even the year after. The concept will not go away, and with a majority in favour it's likely it will get through next time.

But here's a random thought on how to get the experiment done this year without it having any impact on the F1 world championship battle. The whole reason the idea has come up again is thanks to the unique double-header format we have, with two races to be run at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone as F1 bids to get the racing going again.

With travel and quarantine restrictions so tight at the moment, the likelihood is that team personnel and drivers will not be flying home between races, so will be kicking their heels between the two events.

So why doesn't F1 get radical and, on the Wednesday night between the two Austrian races, hold a non-championship reversed-grid race experiment in reverse order to the finishing positions from the Grand Prix on the Sunday?

No practice. A simple 20 lap sprint at 7pm Austrian time when there is still plenty of light. Put it on free-to-air TV and digital platforms to really draw the audience in and make it a must-watch event for any motorsport fan.

Imagine the eyeballs, and imagine the coverage; imagine how it would become a mainstream news story about F1 doing something so radical for the fans and the future of the series as a one-off trial.

What if Hamilton shows that there is scope to charge a good way to the front, and the slower teams are left with a sniff of a good result? How refreshing would that be?

Then when the dust has settled, we will finally have some answers about whether or not it is a good idea.

If Lewis Hamilton only makes it through from last on the grid to 15th, and the event is a dull procession because overtaking is hard, at least we will know that there is little point trying again in the future.

But what if it becomes a great spectacle? What if Hamilton shows that there is scope to charge a good way to the front, and the slower teams are left with a sniff of a good result? How refreshing would that be?

Over to you, F1...