Steiner bums: "Now you have the chance to experiment with new formats"

For a long time it seemed that in 2020 we were going to experiment with new formats to make F1 more exciting. One of the plans was to work with a reversed grid. The standard qualification would then be replaced by a sprint race of 30 minutes, where the starting grid would be determined by the position in the championship, with the last one in the championship being allowed to start on pole in that race.

In the end, the idea was not accepted, because Mercedes did not agree with the idea. A missed opportunity, according to Guenther Steiner, team boss of Haas. "You now have the chance to change things. We have two Grands Prix scheduled on the same circuit and if we want to try something new we should do it. You can compare it to what it was like a week before when we did it as usual".

Because Mercedes couldn't agree with the plans, nothing changes in the end. "I don't think we should be afraid to try new things. If in the end it doesn't work, we know that for the future". Steiner was a big supporter of the plan to work with a reversed grid and that is not because his drivers can then start at the front of the field. "I don't see it as an opportunity for the smaller teams to get an advantage, I see it as an opportunity to make the sport more interesting".

"I don't even think about the possibilities for ourselves, since all the other teams in midfield have the same chance, because we're all on the same level". Steiner recognizes that the opportunity they missed now is not going to happen often. "I have a strong opinion because this opportunity does not occur in a normal year. Every problem gives new opportunities, but we don't use those opportunities now", Steiner concludes at Racefans.net.