Due to a change in tyre rules, Formula One has made the decision to trial a revised qualifying format for the 2023 season.
F1 Qualifying
Qualifying in Formula one has had the same format every race weekend since 2006, which many of us fans have gotten used to.
Currently qualifying split into three sessions. Q1, all 20 Drivers participate on the grid to set the fastest time they possibly can, with the top 15 drivers making it through to Q2. The same will then happen again and then top 10 drivers will proceed to Q1 for a final battle for the all important pole position.
Reducing Tyre Usage
F1 are always trying to find ways to help improve the social issue of climate change. They aim to help this by reducing the number of tyres used on a Grand Prix weekend, in hopes it will reduce the amount of rubber used.
This would mean that with the ‘revised qualifying format’ we will now see a change in the mandated number of tyres allocated to each team, where their usual sets of tyres will be cut to 11 sets of dry weather tyres from the normal 13.
With the allocations of tyres changing, each driver will only have four sets of soft tyres, meaning they will lose three but gain an extra set of hard and medium compound tyres making that four sets of medium and three of hard. However the number of the intermediate and wet compounds will not change.
‘Revised Qualifying Format’
This new format will be trialled through two events in the 2023 season, this will help identify whether this could be the new qualifying going forward and if it works for teams, drivers and the fans.
The qualifying will still be split into three sessions with Q1 being limited to only Hard compound tyres, Q2 to medium compound tyres and Q3 to soft compound tyres. If at any point the session becomes ‘wet’ they would be able to use any compound tyre.
Statements from the Ruling
“A ‘Revised Qualifying Format’ (RQF) will take place at up to two events in 2023 “for the purpose of evaluating whether the revisions are suitable for subsequent championships” – as per the updated regulations,”
“This will see tyre compounds mandated for each stage of F1’s usual three-part qualifying session: hard tyres only in Q1; mediums tyres only in Q2; and, finally, soft tyres only in Q3. Intermediates and wets will be allowed if the RQF sessions are declared wet.
“At RQF events, each driver may use no more than 11 sets of dry-weather tyres, four sets of intermediate tyres and three sets of wet-weather tyres. This compares to the normal weekend allowance of 13 sets of dry-weather tyres, four sets of intermediate tyres and three sets of wet-weather tyres.”