The
FIA is facing pressure to change
Formula 1's qualifying rules ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix – the next round on the 2008 world championship calendar in just under a fortnight's time – in light of the ‘dangerous' incident that occurred in Malaysia.
Both
McLaren drivers were demoted five places on the starting grid in Sepang for having been deemed to have impeded
Nick Heidfeld when the German was on his final flying lap in Q3.
Lewis Hamilton and
Heikki Kovalainen were travelling at barely a fifth of the speed of the
BMW Sauber, leading to fears that should something not be done to alter the situation, serious accidents will follow.
“I think it is because with this year's rules of Q3 [the final part of qualifying] being shorter, drivers finish the timed lap in a different time and different position,” former double world champion
Fernando Alonso – who was similarly delayed on his final flying effort in Kuala Lumpur – is quoted as having said by international news agency
Reuters.
“They [the McLaren drivers] finished their timed lap a little bit earlier than us, but for me I am sure it was the worst thing. They are running at 60km/h and we are at 300km/h, so it is too big a difference in speed and a little bit dangerous.”
The reason Hamilton and Kovalainen – as well as a number of other drivers – were touring around so slowly at the end of the Malaysian qualifying session was in an effort to conserve fuel. The qualifying rules have changed this season, preventing the ten drivers who take part in the third and final session from re-fuelling between then and the start of the race the following day.
However, the revised format – which effectively encourages drivers to cruise around as slowly as possible after completing their final ‘flying' lap – has prompted safety fears, as competitors still lapping flat-out come across other cars doing only a fraction of their speed.
