F1 Forced To Change Qualifying System
F1 has been forced to change its structural procedures for qualifying following the withdrawal of the Super Aguri team.
With 20 cars now in the starting line-up, five cars instead of six will be eliminated at the end of each of the first two parts of qualifying.
Beginning at Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix, 10 cars will still race for pole position in the final 10-minute phase.
The Japanese team wound up their racing activities with immediate effect this week because of a lack of funding.
Super Aguri had been struggling for survival since the collapse of a takeover deal by the Dubai-based Magma Group in April.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone added that although Super Aguri’s demise created more space on the circuit for the other teams he insisted F1 was not a ‘closed shop’.
He stated: ‘It leaves two spots open, but we’re not looking for 12 teams, we’re looking for 10.
‘It means we have a lot more room now because the teams are expanding like crazy with their hospitality units and their trucks and everything. We’re always running out of room.
‘But because we have to be competitive and let people come in, it’s not a closed shop. It’s open.’
