AMuS: "Mini-GP as replacement for qualifying a serious option for 2021"

Now that the regulations for F1 in 2021 are still not complete and many ideas and concepts are being tested, new ideas continue to come in. According to Auto Motor und Sport, one of the newest plans is a mini-GP that should serve as a qualifying session.

At present, there is still a lot of fuss about whether or not to re-introduce refueling during the race. This would encourage the excitement and spectacle of the F1.

Another idea to stimulate this spectacle is to change the qualification in the predictable races to a short Grand Prix in which every driver takes part and whose results in reverse order are the starting grid for the race on Sunday à la Formula 2.

If the idea is approved, then for the races to which it applies the qualification will be replaced by a race of approximately one hundred kilometers. Some of the races that qualify for the possible new concept are Shanghai, Barcelona and Paul Ricard.

The added tension will ultimately have to come from the fact that the big three will need to force their way through the field. The starting position of the mini-GP will be the reverse World championship order.

Circuits like Monte Carlo and Singapore are reasonably predictable after the starting line-up has been formed. In that sense they are eligible for the mini GP. However, it is a major disadvantage for the top of the field because overtaking is virtually impossible there.