Teams are concerned a plan to test qualifying races at a limited number of rounds in the 2020 F1 season could increase their costs at a time the sport is trying to save money.

A proposal to replace qualifying with a short race , which drivers start in reverse championship order, at up to three rounds next year is being considered. It requires the backing of all 10 teams to be approved for next season.

Among teams’ concerns about the plan are the potential implications of crash damage incurred during qualifying races, according to Racing Point CEO and team principal Otmar Szafnauer.

“We have to answer a lot of questions as to what happens in parc ferme and what happens if you crash in a qualifying race,” said Szafnauer. “We then have to carry more spares, who’s going to pay for it?”

“Engine mileage might be a little different [and] tyre usage,” he added.

Qualifying currently accounts for a large part of the teams’ race weekend tyre allocations. Front-running teams which reach Q3 can use five or more sets of new tyres. A qualifying race may only require a single set. However teams also have to account for potentially increased engine wear from running extra races.

“One of the things is to make sure that the races is as long as you would use up miles in qualifying,” Szafnauer added. “But even then, not everyone gets through to Q3, [so] it’s different.

“The risk of crashing in qualifying is a lot less than in a race. You’ve got a start – and the proposal was to start in reverse championship order.”

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Several drivers have strongly criticised the qualifying races plan. But Szafnauer sees potential in the reverse grid proposal.

“I think if you do if you go in reverse championship order the guy in front of you is only marginally slower than you. So you put the fastest guy at the back but the guys around him aren’t the slow guys anymore, like sometimes happens.

“[Today] if you get a penalty or if you screw up in qualifying you start at the end and then it’s fun to watch him go through the field. This isn’t going to be like that. So the fastest guy’s at the end, or the guy leading the championship, the guy probably in a car just like him is right in front of him and so on up the field.

“So I don’t know how that’s going to pan out after, whatever, 25 laps. It’ll be different.”

In order to increase the chances of a final proposal with has the unanimous backing of the teams being tabled, the FIA has asked them to help fine-tune the qualifying races concept.

“The FIA asked, said we don’t want to waste our time in answering all these questions if one of you is going to say ‘forget it’. Which kind of makes sense.

“So we all said ‘no, go ahead and answer the questions’ and after that we’ll vote. So it could happen. But we do need unanimity for that to happen in 2020 and it’s hard to get unanimity in Formula 1.”

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2020 F1 season