Who will qualify slowest now?

[Valve Bounce]

With the erasure of Super Aguri, it begs the question who will qualify slowest now. This will be an interesting point because if a team regularly qualified slowest, and regularly came last, would it's sponsors be willing to pour gadzillions to prop up such a team?

Will such a team disappear from F1?

[Hawkmoon]

I guess the obvious candidate is Force India but Fisichella has been qualifying pretty well so maybe not. I am willing to be that P20 has Sutil's name on it for Turkey though.

I think it will probably switch back and forth between Force India and STR in the short term.

We might even see DC on the back row. He's a pretty crappy qualifier at the best of times and if we get a circuit where the Red Bull is struggling and the Force India isn't then make way at the back for Old Man Coulthard!

[maxu05]

It's time for a Minardi comeback :D

[Valve Bounce]

With the hex I put on Honda, hopefully it will be bunsen!! :eek:

[Tazio]

I think the time separation is really the key. Let say Sutil qualifies twentieth!
It’s not going to mean that much if he's only .3 behind p10 in Q2. Let’s face one fact.
The mean speed of the field is going up with the exclusion of SA. Now I'm not happy to see them leave!
But it leaves the field more competitive top to bottom!

[CNR]

if the redbull has the pace of Renault with the Renault engine.
and Scuderia Toro Rosso (http://www.redbullf1.com/swf/application.html)have full works Ferrari engine will they be as good as redbull or better with the new car. ?

[Big Ben]

I think the time separation is really the key. Let say Sutil qualifies twentieth!
It’s not going to mean that much if he's only .3 behind p10 in Q2. Let’s face one fact.
The mean speed of the field is going up with the exclusion of SA. Now I'm not happy to see them leave!
But it leaves the field more competitive top to bottom!

it is a shame that there will be less teams on the grid but it could be better than seeing a team like super aguri this season.... always last. Now the rest of them will have to fight harder to avoid qualifying/finishing last

[Mark]

Will this now mean that we lose the slowest 4 in Q1 or will they even it out so we lose 5 each in Q1 and Q2?

[ArrowsFA1]

This will be an interesting point because if a team regularly qualified slowest, and regularly came last, would it's sponsors be willing to pour gadzillions to prop up such a team?
Never mind sponsors, what happens if the team qualifying slowest is a manufacturer owned team?

With Force India and Toro Rosso being the only teams behind Honda in the WCC standings at the moment it may not be too long before we see a manufacturer propping up the grid! If that happens their marketing & PR dept. would have real trouble promoting road cars from that position!

[Valve Bounce]

Never mind sponsors, what happens if the team qualifying slowest is a manufacturer owned team?

With Force India and Toro Rosso being the only teams behind Honda in the WCC standings at the moment it may not be too long before we see a manufacturer propping up the grid! If that happens their marketing & PR dept. would have real trouble promoting road cars from that position!

The most likely manufacturer to inherit that position is..................wait for it.................TEAM HONDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tom206wrc]

Force India or Torro Rosso I guess :mark:

[millencolin]

Please oh please let it be Honda!!!

[Tazio]

Will this now mean that we lose the slowest 4 in Q1 or will they even it out so we lose 5 each in Q1 and Q2?Brilliant question, but too logical. If F1 did follow your reasoning, it would mean less cars on the track, and more room for cars to make a last ditch effort to move up to the next level of qualifying. It also means two cars less worth of rubber down on the track, although this difference should be minimal. I just don't think they will change the numbers going through untill there is a petition from the teams! JMHO

[Alfa Fan]

Will this now mean that we lose the slowest 4 in Q1 or will they even it out so we lose 5 each in Q1 and Q2?

I think it will revert to 5 in each as it was planned when F1 originally had 20 cars

[Tazio]

I think it will revert to 5 in each as it was planned when F1 originally had 20 carsHope your right!

[F1boat]

Force India and STR, probably.

[Nikki Katz]

There'll be 5 cars out in each round in qualifying now won't there? That would make more sense than 6 and 4. On recent form I'd say that Coulthard would join the other 4 mentioned if that is the case.

[jens]

Sutil is the most obvious choice for P20 I guess unless he 'miraculously' finds some speed in the future events.

The dropping method of 5+5 would make sense, so I guess and hope it'll be so.

[maxu05]

I hope it's Honda as well.

[CNR]

Vettel gets first taste of new Toro Rosso


http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/5/7785.html


clocked a best time of 1m 06.372 seconds to take fifth place in the timesheets - just three-hundredths of a second adrift of stablemate Mark Webber in Red Bull’s RB4.