Let’s state the obvious; it’s difficult to be a fan of F1 at the moment. If anything has exemplified that, it’s the recent qualifying changes.
First it was on, then it was off, then it was back on. Then people started to wonder if it wasn’t perhaps completely thought out, followed by that being very much confirmed on Saturday. Niki Lauda is quoted have saying that F1 “has lost all direction” and while it’s not hard to disagree with that assessment, it’s more of a relief that senior paddock figures aren’t afraid to speak out.
If you watched Ted’s Notebook after Saturday qualifying, Martin Brundle made a compassionate plea to get things back to basics and compared it to football – where the basic premise hasn’t changed in forever, and they haven’t thought that they need to change that.
So on behalf of every F1 fan, let’s get F1 back to basics. Let us here at The Sett give you a qualifying session that makes up for Saturday and makes you proud to be an F1 fan. Proud to talk to your mates about qualifying. Proud to say that F1 isn’t boring.
Sit back, relax and enjoy the 2000 qualifying session from Suzuka between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. An hour where every driver had 12 laps, equating to roughly 4 runs. A basic format and yet here is the proof that it can produce something absolutely enthralling.
And if someone that’s senior in the F1 inner circle watches this, make sure you share it as a reminder of what F1 can be.
