Bottas thinks 'reversed grid' is unfair: "I'm happy with the current format"

A few weeks ago Liberty Media came up with the idea for a new qualification format, in which a sprint race determines the starting position of the actual Grand Prix. The starting position for that sprint race would then be the reverse order of the championship standings. In the end Mercedes was the only team that voted against this.

It is not surprising that Mercedes and their drivers are not big fans of this idea. They would have had to start the first race from the last row of the grid anyway and because of their speed that probably wouldn't be the last time this year. Valtteri Bottas therefore sees it as an unfair disadvantage.

"It's a bit unfair sometimes, because on some tracks we know it's very difficult to overtake. Because of this some games might be played for those qualifying races. I just love fair racing and may the best man win. I'm happy with the current format," said the Finn talking to F1 on Instagram.

Because it is more difficult to overtake on some circuits, Bottas says there could be a situation where teams deliberately perform badly in order to get a better starting position for the next Grand Prix. Comparable to what sometimes happens in the WRC, where teams deliberately hold back one day in order to gain an advantageous starting position the next day.

Despite the fact that the plan has been blocked by Mercedes for 2020, Ross Brawn has already indicated that he will not give up this idea yet. So for 2021 the reverse grid concept is back on the table.