04 December 2023 , 17:38
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George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have both made it very clear they are against the idea of bringing reverse grids into Formula 1.
It is a format that is used in the sport's direct feeder series. F2 and F3 use the reverse grid where the top 10 qualifiers are switched around for the Sprint race, while the full qualifying result is used to set the grid for the main race as usual.
Something similar has been mooted for F1 with chiefs currently discussing the future of the Sprint. The format still has the full backing of the sport's leaders, but it has been acknowledged that tweaks need to be made to make the short-form races more exciting.
Introducing reverse grids is far from the only option under consideration, but it is a potential course. It would, however, not be a popular move among some of the biggest voices on the grid.
Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, is one of those who does not like the idea. "I won't talk on behalf of the drivers, but my own personal view is I don't think reverse grid races will work - purely because I learned this when I raced in Formula 3 and Formula 2," said the Mercedes driver.
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"If you've got the 10 fastest cars, the most challenging car to overtake is the one who you're fighting with. If you reverse that grid, you're going to have the quickest car in 10th trying to overtake the second-quickest car in ninth, which is trying to overtake the third-quickest car which is in eighth. So, each car is actually trying to overtake their most direct competitor.
"What you'll probably actually find is it would just be a DRS train, because you might have a Williams leading from a Haas, who can't quite get past, who's leading from an Alpine, who's then leading from a McLaren or whoever. So I think the concept won't work."
This is certainly not the first time the idea of introducing reverse grids has been discussed. The topic has come up several times over the years and in 2019, when it was discussed in a press conference prior to that year's Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton was one of three drivers who made it clear they would not want it to happen.
Charles Leclerc was the first to respond, and the most diplomatic. "I would not be happy," he smiled. "I don't think it's the solution for Formula 1. I think the best should win and start in the best place and not reverse that order."
Hamilton simply shrugged and replied: "I don't really know what to say... the people who have proposed it don't really know what they're talking about." And Sebastian Vettel made his Mercedes rival laugh when he followed up with his own rather blunt take.
"I think it's complete bulls**t," to be honest," he added with a straight face. "I think we know that we want to improve things, it's very clear we need to string the field more together and have better racing. It's just a plaster - I don't know which genius came up with this but it's not the solution. It's the complete wrong approach."