Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that the controversial new qualifying format will not be in place for the season opener.

The new format, agreed this week by the F1 Commission following its proposal by the Strategy Group sees qualifying effectively become three rounds of high-octane 'pass the parcel', whereby in Q1, Q2 and Q3 the slowest cars will be eliminated every thirty seconds, the survivors progressing to the next round until only two (usually the Mercedes duo these days) remain. At which point these two battle it out for pole.

However, despite the urgency in pushing the new format through, Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that the relevant software will not be in place for the season opener in three weeks time and consequently the new format's introduction will not come until Spain in May, the fifth round of the championship.

"The new qualifying won't happen because we can't get everything together in time," he told The Independent. "It was going to come in at the start of this year but we are not going to be able to get all the software done in time.

"So the qualifying changes will probably be in Spain. In Australia, it will be the old qualifying. All of the software has to be written so it's not easy."

Ecclestone, who this time last week was declaring that the sport is the worst its ever been, in the wake of the Strategy Group and F1 Commission meetings on Tuesday experienced an epiphany, insisting that everything is now fine and F1 is wonderful again.

That said, he remains disappointed that his proposal to reverse the grid wasn't taken up.

"It's not what I wanted in the end," he sighed. "All I'm trying to do is muddle up the grid so that the guy that is quickest in qualifying doesn't sit on pole and disappear because why should he be slow in the race if he is quick in qualifying?

"I wanted a very simple thing," he continued. "I wanted qualifying to stay as it is, because it is good, and then if a guy is on pole and has won the last race he gets so many seconds added to his time so he has to fight through the bloody pack to get in the lead, which he would do in the end. It would be exciting whilst he is doing it.

But the teams didn't agree.

"They don't want to do reverse grids," he admitted. "There are a million things they could do but they are completely mad. We can't do it alone because to get the things voted through it has to go through the commissions and then we have all the teams deciding."

So, we get the first five races – assuming the software is in place and works – think Live Timing App – and then the new format. That’s going to go down well, changing formats once the season is underway.

In other words, the opening races will be "the worst F1 has ever been", with things improving at Barcelona, a circuit that has a long history of producing one of the most soporific events on the calendar.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by TokyoAussie, 01/03/2016 3:32

"This is so dumb on so many levels.

1. It is just plain DUMB on its own. I challenged a friend to think up the most hair-brained idea for qualifying, before he read about the actual plan. He was shocked by what they came up with.
2. It has to be delayed because software is not yet developed. DUMB.
3. FOM/FIA have a strong record on developing software that works (not). DUMB.
4. A qualifying system that requires any software at all? DUMB.
5. The poor punters who show up in person to watch an event will have no means to understand what is happening. DUMB.
6. The final shootout on the last lap of Q3 reduced from 3/4/5 cars to 2. DUMB.
7. Every qualifying session, several cars get blocked. In this scenario, that would mean almost certain elimination. DUMB.
8. This will likely force the mid-runners to use all their softer rubber even earlier than before. DUMB.

The organisers and teams had a think-tank session and came up with this? Over all the bleedin' obvious problems? DUMB, DUMB, and DUMB. I'm lost for words. It's just ... DUMB.

"

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2. Posted by metalhead, 29/02/2016 12:09

"Sorry to burst the false euphoria of sponsors and broadcasters but ratings are on a decline and people are tuning out. This is coming from someone who used to go to 2 -3 races /yr. Now I cant remember the last time I watched one on tv let alone live. Sure, you will get the hard core fans no matter what. But to expand from at best a fringe sport they need to start understanding what fans want---- consistency. Imagine changing the rules of the French open in the middle of the tournament? Or how about adjusting the rules in the Premier every 2 or 3 yrs? Insane. "

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3. Posted by mickl, 28/02/2016 19:21

"Guess what a reverse grid will get you. Drivers going very very slowly in qualifying........"

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4. Posted by Rob, 28/02/2016 12:59

"Of course some of the teams like the new ideas. Anything that can result in them getting further up the grid than they deserve is a bonus for them, but not for anyone else."

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5. Posted by Kkiirmki, 28/02/2016 12:14

"Well, if the software is written by the same people that are involved in the F1 timing app, it'll be more than 5 rounds, more like 5 years. Fingers crossed."

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6. Posted by Spindoctor, 28/02/2016 11:02

"Amazing!

If you need a computer to figure-out what's going on, and if it takes several months to write "software" that can determine what's going on, then it's too bloody complicated.

Given the nature of F1, I'm guessing that there might still be controversy and demands for a "recount" even after all the bits & bytes have been sorted by CVC.
"

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7. Posted by Yeyox02, 27/02/2016 22:01

"Mr. Ecclestone for the love of God please sell F1 to someone serious with good and fresh ideas now that still has some value. If I was a Mercedes boss, I would tell Mr Ecclestone: ""Look Bernie, I have no reason to jeopardize my cars and my drivers so I am not going to do qualifying, instead I will start every race from the back of the grid, anyway I know that I am going to win all the races and the championship again no matter all your weird changes aimed to stop us at any cost"""

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8. Posted by Tweek, 27/02/2016 18:45

"Please let this be the first in a LONG list of articles on the delay of this new rule's implementation leading to an announcement of its retraction. "

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9. Posted by Canuck, 27/02/2016 17:24

"I think this goes to show how absurd this new format will be. It will take FOM 2 month to develop something that the fans can understand.

Maybe they should get the sponsors involved in how to attract fan. Rather than engineers looking at complex solutions, at least all the sponsors have advertising agencies that truly care about how to attract clients to their brand."

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10. Posted by father guido, 27/02/2016 16:27

"No qualifying needed! Just pull the pill. Way more fun."

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11. Posted by Cobra Driver, 27/02/2016 16:12

"seo1970
Good one, missed the extensive racing experience that Bernie holds. "Absurd"....maybe a little strong. Misinformed more to the point. And you have erred in assuming that my racing experience involved only FV. I held an FIA license for a few years, when I owned and raced F2 equipment. A standoff then, we were both misinformed.
"

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12. Posted by seo1970, 27/02/2016 14:09

"Vee Racer:
Far from me to defend Bernie, which I think has done more harm to F1 than any other person in its whole history, but your comment is absurd.
Not only was Bernie a very successful team owner at Breabham (helping Piquet win his first two WDC), but he was also a decent driver before that, competing in F3 and even winning at least one race (which in my books puts your Formula Vee experience to shame in terms of having the high ground on the head to head against Bernie in terms of driving experience.

That said, I concur that tinkering with the rules and making them more and more complex is NOT the way to go."

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13. Posted by Cobra Driver, 27/02/2016 13:05

"It is unfortunate that suits such as Ecclestone do not have the experience of actually competing in a road race. He would then realize that approaching a green flag with an inverted grid is probably the most dangerous circumstance a driver can encounter. I have been there with Formula Vee. I can imagine what it would be like with F1. Stop tinkering!
"

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14. Posted by Ro, 27/02/2016 11:27

"This time its not BE's idea, but I still think the FIA should set the rules and not the teams as there will always be a conflict of interest. I prefer the old way of qualifying, without the knock-out rules as they are now. Give me a banzai lap by Senna any day"

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15. Posted by bfairey, 27/02/2016 10:23

"No comments you all must be stupid, any more ideas from the stupid old man. F1 is finished we all are going electric."

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New qualifying format will not be in place until Spain

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