With a nod to cricket, which in the face of falling spectator numbers and viewing figures - as matches could last for several days - subsequently introduced the Twenty20 format which sees matches decided on the day, Liberty Media is said to be considering a major change to qualifying.

Ever since the American company bought the sport it has been looking at ways to not only spice up F1 for current fans but the means to attract younger new fans, essentially the future of the sport.

While there has been talk of reducing the race weekend from three to two days, and of reducing the length of races or even running the races over two days, according to Auto Motor und Sport, Liberty Media is now thought to have come up with a solution that will attract new fans while not alienating purists.

The German publication claims that while Friday will continue to consist of two practice sessions - though both run in the afternoon, Saturday would feature a 100 kilometre sprint race, the result of which would decide the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix.

A proposal to decide the race grid by reversing the standings in the drivers' championship was abandoned following calls that it would be too artificial, while copying the F2 format of deciding the grid by reversing the result of the preceding race was also scrapped, that format never quite gelling with fans.

The 100 kilometre qualifying race would see no limit placed on fuel or tyres, with the aim of seeing drivers go flat-out for the full distance.

With an eye on the gamesmanship that some teams might adapt looking ahead to the race, Toto Wolff has suggested points be awarded for the fastest laps or even the result of the qualifying race.

With the 100 kilometre sprint aimed at attracting a new generation of fans who want their sport (and pretty much everything else) bite-sized, Niki Lauda suggests that races should be limited to 90 or 100 minutes.

"Why not set a maximum length for the races," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "The two-hour races in Singapore and Monte Carlo are hard to sell if nothing happens for two hours."

While the two practice sessions would be held on Friday afternoon, it is proposed that the morning should be given over to scrutineering, with race fans given full access. Which would have Christian Horner whining in... 3... 2...

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Canuck, 04/04/2018 11:51

"I have an idea for Saturday qualifying, lets have a 100km race but in order to save the F1 cars for Sunday, let the qualifying race be done with go karts. That way we have a level playing field and we get to see the drivers."

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2. Posted by imejl99, 04/04/2018 10:51

"Only if Liberty provides SAME CAR for everyone for Saturday 100 km qualifying race. Take GP2 car, produce 20 of them, and brand it LQR, Liberty Qualifying Racer, or else.

Or qualifying lottery will solve everything, like magic?"

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3. Posted by Chris Roper, 03/04/2018 21:25

"Will the grid for the sprint race be determined by the FP3 time or the previous race grid/finish? With the current aerodynamics it makes no difference how much fuel they can burn, they still can't overtake so whatever determines the sprint race start will likely be the race grid too.

Secondly, will they increase the Power Unit allocation? Who is going to go flat out and risk a PU, not to mention car damage, in a support race when the points are only awarded in the main race.

Maybe Liberty think that all of April is for jokes and not just the morning of the 1st."

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4. Posted by Uffen, 03/04/2018 16:41

"I have watched scrutineering in dribs and drabs and it is NOT exciting. It is tedious beyond belief. One step involves a man with an electronic "box" waving the box at the front of the monocoque to detect the FIA-approved microchip buried in the carbon fibre.
Liberty is just throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks. And they're bad ideas. "

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5. Posted by Canuck, 03/04/2018 14:33

"What a wonderful idea - we can watch a shorter procession on Saturday which will give us a preview of the Sunday procession. Now the engines will have to last 14 races instead of 7 which of course reduces the cost per race if the components last.
There is nothing wrong with qualifying now, it is as good as it has ever been. It is when we see what the cars can really do without the restrictions of fuel and tire management. If there is a Saturday race now engine and component management become even more critical for Sunday.
I can see now - this whole team is in NASA space program, I think they landed on the moon."

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6. Posted by GrahamG, 03/04/2018 9:48

"If this is "the answer" why not run full length F1 GP's with no limit on fuel or tyres? What about limits on engines etc.? This will virtually double the workload on engines and transmissions, so no way are teams going to push in an additional sprint event.
Drivers won't push either - which would they prefer, damage to the car and unable to race Sunday or the odd extra place on the grid?
Another daft idea to "spice up the show""

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7. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 03/04/2018 8:57

"So they are proposing another follow my leader extra race on a Saturday?"

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8. Posted by FQITW, 03/04/2018 7:50

"So long race (Grand Prix) = No overtaking and Short race = Overtaking galore

Why didn’t I think of that before?
"

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9. Posted by TokyoAussie, 03/04/2018 3:53

"Did this article get posted on April 1st. No? Ye gods."

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10. Posted by opaquin, 03/04/2018 0:17

"Only one thing is going to make F1 exciting and increase fan base. Wheel to wheel racing with a more level playing field. Less down force, less reliance on aero, maybe even make the cars smaller to encourage side by side action. Instead, F1 has been all about polishing a turd. "

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11. Posted by Liam III, 02/04/2018 21:37

"The ONLY thing exciting is qualifying. Go ahead and change that and I'm for sure out. Idiots...."

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12. Posted by Fambank, 02/04/2018 21:10

"And this will NOT make F1 cheaper to run, as parts wear and crashes appear.
Above all, it will do NOTHING for the starting order of the sunday race, as always
the pecking order in F1 is almost set in stone."

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13. Posted by Ro, 02/04/2018 20:52

"LM : Dream on! You are making a joke of F1....should have put that one out on the 1st of April! "

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14. Posted by nonickname, 02/04/2018 19:50

"Dos anyone remember the good old days, when there was a qualifying race on Saturday to get on the grid!!
Ah yes,there were up to 38 cars entered in those days, just another thing that has changed in the mess we call F1.
I really think that this is the last year of the series.Good riddance."

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15. Posted by Oldbuzzard, 02/04/2018 19:38

"Oh, Lordy, oh, lordy, oh lordy. Ain't we gonna have fun now?!!! Yes, here's how you get more fans: Write rules for cars that allow almost unlimited aerodynamic space age technology and unlimited cost and get mind numbing boredom for races. Next, to try and fix the boredom issue, DO NOT change the aero rules that are causing the problem, change everything else. Brilliant. How about scrutineering to take all morning on Friday and let the "fan" (no typo) in to watch. Does Liberty really believe scrutineering is exciting to watch? Do they really believe Charlie is going to allow 10,000 (or is it 10) spectators to wonder up and down pit lane getting in the way of...everyone? Then, run a qualifying race of 100Km on Saturday afternoon with no restrictions on fuel or tires. Does that mean they can run whatever synthetic concotion Elf, Shell, etc can some up with? So, we get a balls-to-the-wall sprint race, with perhaps driver points for winning and placing. Great show, exciting TV and spectating....but, wait, what about only three engines for the year? The way to win that mess is to sandbag the qualie race and wait until all the front runners take grid penalties for using up engines and by midseason you'll be on the front row. The present qualifying system is almost the same as one sprint race, it's just broken into 3 sprint races with fewer cars at the end making it safer to go flat out for the pole. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The aero rules and wind tunnels are breaking F1, FIX that NOW. Anyway, things are already improving, with Haas and McLaren gettng on with it. Yes, it will be a donnybrook for 2nd, 3rd and 4th, but at least it will be something to watch. Give Mercedes and Lewis the trophies now and make a huge trophy and $50million prize for second. Since FOM controls the TV feed, instruct the directors to ignore the race leader if it's a Merc. They pretty much do that anyway. "

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Liberty eyeing Saturday qualifying race?

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