Williams co-owner Patrick Head is the latest F1 'big gun' to suggest that grids should be reversed in an effort to promote overtaking.

The idea has been mooted for some time, and follows continued criticism of the lack of overtaking in contemporary F1.

The reasons for the lack of overtaking are manifold. Firstly, there is the design of the contemporary F1 car, which means that whenever one car gets into the 'dirty air' of the car in front it becomes unstable. Then there is the current points system which actually encourages those drivers at the front of the field to settle for position. Then there is the fact that by its very nature the grid features the quickest cars at the front and the slowest at the back. That said, with the introduction of grid penalties in the last couple of seasons we have seen the pace-setter demoted down the grid and therefore forced to overtake once the race is underway.

Many of the most iconic moments in F1 history have featured overtaking manoeuvres as drivers go head to head, risking all for that extra position, that extra point.

Head argues, like many before him, that reversing grids would lead to more overtaking. "I would like to see the grids in reverse order of championship position," he told BBC Sport.

"It's the same for everybody, and over a whole season the right guy would still win the championship," he added. "If you allow the guys to do all this practice and testing and then you line them up with the fastest at the front and the slowest at the back, why should there be any overtaking? Maybe overtaking will be less difficult, but if a guy is back there because he is 0.3 seconds slower than the car in front, why should he overtake?"

However, the Englishman admits that the idea will not appeal to everyone.

"The fastest might say: 'Well, overtaking is a risk and it puts us more at risk than the guys who don't have to do that'," he said. "I'm sure people would complain. But I do come across a lot of people who say they like watching motorbikes (more) and I have to say I'm a little bit in that camp because there isn't a lot of overtaking in Formula One.

"What's really boring is if there's a car that is genuinely faster sitting on the tail of the car in front and his race is destroyed. We've had some races at Monaco where people have been held up for 30 or 40 laps when they've been a second or two faster than the car in front, and I think that's a pity."

Previously, FIA President Max Mosley had argued that race fans were more interested in race strategy in terms of tyres, pit stops and fuel loads than overtaking, but in recent times he has appeared to come around to understanding that overtaking, or at least the threat of a move, is one of the great joys of the sport.

Back in 2003, Mosley was amongst those left speechless, when, following a track invasion by a former Priest, the British GP was thrown into outright chaos, forcing drivers to overtake, and thereby creating one of the most memorable races in recent history.

Other than such (rare) incidents, it is mainly the weather which creates the most memorable events.