F1 drivers stand up against qualifying changes

Formula 1 will make an experiment with qualifying at two races this season. The first one most likely will be at Imola in May, but double world champion Max Verstappen and other drivers see no need for change.

The plan is to restrict tyre choice for the Saturday session as Q1 will be run mandatory with the hard compound, Q2 with mediums and the battle at top 10 will be with the fastest soft tyres.

Drivers currently have a free choice of tyre throughout qualifying. The move would also reduce each driver’s allocation to 11 sets of tyres from 13 for the weekend, reducing the number Pirelli make and transport.

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Verstappen ‘didn’t expect such rapid change’ in pace

“I hope it’s not going to be cold in Imola, otherwise it’s going to be quite tricky,” Red Bull’s pole-sitter Verstappen told reporters at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Team mate Sergio Perez, agreed with the Dutch driver. “We do not really need to change anything,” he said. “We’ll see once we try it but I don’t think there’s a need to change something that is working well.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, third on the grid, also felt there was no need for any tweaks.