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⚔️⚡ Reviewing the new Formula E qualifying process (and one way to make it better)

Qualifying formats have moved a long way from blocking an hour at a circuit and setting the grid at the end. 

It's duelling, but not as we know it (c) Formula E on Twitter

F1 is one series that introduced different stages of jeopardy before the 10-car shootout the day before a race. Formula E had previously tried a group format, before making a drastic change for Season 8.

Attempting to work out Formula E’s new qualifying format was a challenge in itself, but after the first attempt in Diriyah, I am a convert, although it’s clear it needs a little bit of refining, the way the session was presented made it a lot easier - far easier than the attempts media outlets used to try and describe it. 

This is a well-meaning attempt that feels about as coherent as a Mitchell and Webb quiz show. And people certainly had doubts about the duel format, but after Stoffel Vandoorne put it on pole, the process the Mercedes EQ driver took to get there made it a more comprehensive test of a driver. 

Where most qualifying formats pit the driver against themselves and the clock, Formula E added a one-on-one competitive element to it, and once the field gets down to eight cars, it’s very easy to follow, even if the process to get to that stage feels like a throwback to the older qualifying method. 

Drivers split into two groups of 11 and aim to finish in the top four of each group. The problem is the effect of track evolution is quite pronounced, so starting your final lap as close to 00:00 really makes a difference. The top four get bracketed for a series of one-lap shootouts, with the winners from each group facing the fourth placed in the other etc. This continues on a single-elimination process until the final, which is when the clever bit happens…

One of the cars’ TV transmissions is delayed slightly to allow for a viewer to see them at the same time, making it feel more akin to pursuit cycling in a velodrome and without losing any of the suspense a one-lap duel brings. It’s clear Formula E have really tried to do something different with their qualifying, which was one of many sticks the sport’s detractors used to beat them with, sometimes unfairly. 

The other idea they’ve brought in makes things a lot more accessible for viewers, using mini-sectors to compare each driver as they go through the lap. The on-screen graphic shows a vertical line with driver distances tracked and whether a driver is gaining or losing ground. Is it perfect? No, the early consensus seems to be that 12 minutes for the opening group is too much time to set a flying lap, and even though half the field isnt’t there, there are still incidents where cars hold each other up, accidentally or otherwise. 

The other issue seems to be timing and logistics, where in qualifying for the second race, Antonio Felix da Costa missed his slot, causing a bit of confusion in the knockouts. 

One more change 

But I did have one idea that might switch things up. Make finishing at the top of your initial 11-driver group mean something. Take a note from the NFL or the IPL and put the leaders through a couple of rounds. To prevent messing up the knockout format, I would also put one more driver through to the tournament from each group, putting 10 drivers into the final tournament.

 

The NFL rewards 1 seeds (Titans and Packers in this case... not that it helped them) (c) Sporting News

This would be the revised duel at the end, with nine extra battles for fans, as opposed to eight, but after commenting on how confusing the format was at the start of this, it would be somewhat hypocritical to complain that they haven’t complicated it further. If you didn't want to add the extra drivers, you could pit the fastest fifth-placed driver against the slowest qualifier and bring them in, similar to an NBA play-in game, and showing the unpredictably of a low seed playoff run. This would only add one extra lap to the final session.

There is also the spectre of team orders popping up. We saw a spirited battle between Mercedes EQ drivers Vandoorne and reigning champion Nyck de Vries during one of the knockouts, but in a championship-defining situation, if a team’s two drivers make it to the final, would of them essentially throw the fingerpoke of doom at the other? 

In time, and the inevitable refinements Formula E will make to the format, this innovative hybrid between conventional, one-shot and elimination qualifying should hopefully be here to stay, removing the complaints about SuperPole groups et al, and making Formula E more exciting to fans. It also works very well for TV, with Channel 4 in the UK showing the bracket to viewers before the start of Race 2, for example. 

And for all the changes to the qualifying format, the first race was a case of different year, same result, or even different motorsport discipline, same result as champion Nyck de Vries won the opening race of the season, this time trailed by Stoffel Vandoorne. There is no seat (yet) at the front of the Formula 1 grid, but there are still rumours swirling about the future of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Neither Vandoorne or de Vries would be the favourites, but they surely have to be in contention if Hamilton suddenly decided to walk away. I wrote about that here.

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