Normal service was resumed in Melbourne as a familiar Mercedes one-two saw the 2016 season begin where 2015 left off, with Nico Rosberg taking the win from defending champion Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso escaping mercifully unhurt from a high speed crash. Yet it was a disastrous new qualifying system that made unwanted headlines and overshadowed the start to Formula One’s longest ever campaign.
An unqualified mess
Even by Formula One’s standards, the all-new elimination qualifying format introduced Down Under was a resounding failure of laughable proportions.
Dreamt up by the sport’s out-of-touch bosses ahead of this year’s 21-race calendar, the new system was designed to curtail Mercedes’ tiresome dominance whilst bringing added excitement to what have recently been little more than pre-race formalities. But with nobody really seeming to know what was going on – and the track left empty at crucial times during the qualifying sessions at Albert Park – those in the paddock moved quickly to admit the sport had got it wrong.
Bernie Ecclestone described the new system as “pretty crap”, Mercedes’ Toto Wolff called it “rubbish”, while Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the sport “should apologise to the fans”. Those sentiments were echoed by the drivers, with Sebastian Vettel leading the criticism when he claimed he and his peers had previously advised against altering the format. As it is, the new system has now been scrapped and qualifying will revert to the old format for the next race in Bahrain.
Such a swift U-turn must have been a difficult pill to swallow for Ecclestone and co, but one can’t help thinking the qualifying debacle is yet another sign that Formula One has lost confidence in its product. If the sport’s bosses want to attract new fans and restore faith among long-established ones, perhaps a good way to go about it would be to stop the constant format tinkering and year-to-year rule changes. All the desultory meddling is turning Formula One into something of a laughing stock and, ultimately, turning people off the sport.
Haas-ta la vista, baby
Romain Grosjean’s impressive sixth place finish provided a remarkable debut for Haas F1, the newly formed American outfit that is the first start-up Formula One team since 2010. The 29-year-old’s inspired performance surpassed expectations and meant Haas, run by Nascar co-owner Gene Haas, became the first new team to score points on their Grand Prix bow since Mika Salo finished in the same position for Toyota in 2002.
Whatever Haas go on to achieve this year, however, the team will receive no prize money whatsoever for their efforts. Around US$900 million is due to be dished out to teams at the end of the year but Haas F1, who are reportedly yet to sign a commercially binding contract with Formula One Management (FOM), will not receive a cent as they are newcomers to the series.
“It’s not the end of the world for Haas,” Ecclestone confirmed in an interview with Forbes ahead of Sunday’s race. “When they come into Formula One they know. They asked to come in. Nobody asked them.”
Still, for what it’s worth Haas’ shock result did earn widespread praise within the Nascar world, with several top drivers and teams in the stock-car championship posting tweets congratulating the team’s sensational start to life in Formula One.
Pretty incredible debut for @HaasF1Team. P6 ��
— Clint Bowyer (@ClintBowyer) March 20, 2016
While Gene Haas’ Nascar rivals were busy tweeting away back in the US, one man in attendance to witness the team’s achievement first-hand was actor turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Terminator star took time out from a body building event named in his honour to attend Sunday’s race and will no doubt have been impressed with what he saw from the first team to represent his adopted homeland since the 1980s.
VW on the grid?
The company may still be reeling from the fallout of last year’s emissions scandal but Jost Capito, the German who is set to replace Martin Whitmarsh as chief executive at McLaren, has refused to rule out Volkswagen’s future involvement in Formula One. Speaking to German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, the current head of the automotive giant’s successful World Rally Championship (WRC) programme said a foray into Formula One “is always a topic” for the embattled carmaker.
“It depends on the timing,” he said. “Currently there are several reasons why it makes no sense, but that could change.
“F1 needs a long-term stable business structure and especially long-term technical regulations. If you want to be in Formula One you need a huge investment, so you have to have security with your planning. And that is not currently there for a newcomer.”
While it remains to be seen whether VW will indeed enter the F1 fray, it is widely expected that Capito will bring much-needed energy to McLaren when he arrives at the team later in the season. McLaren finished a disappointing ninth in last year’s constructors' championship, with some suggesting the team’s poor relationship with engine partner Honda was to blame. Capito, however, believes his experience collaborating with Yamaha during a stint at Sauber in the later 1990s means he is well placed to improve McLaren’s relations with Honda and turn around the team’s fortunes when he takes up his new role.
“You have to make the relationships work,” he told Autosport earlier this year. “It has to be one team, no matter where the people work. It's always a challenge to bring a team together and it's a bit more difficult if you have part of the team in a different continent or if there is a different culture.
“But I have worked with the Japanese in the past so I have quite a good experience with that.”