Robin
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- United Kingdom
As you know both from Kobayashi in Turkey and from Heidfeld today they start at the back of the grid for the race, because even though they are technically outside the 107 percent time any laps done in free practice can be used as a gauge if necessary.
So isn't having the 107 percent rule totally irrelevant if they can use free practice lap times as a measure of whether a car is competitive enough to compete?
The only time the rule would ever be used is at the start of a season when a team is completely unprepared (like with HRT). It is implausible that a team mid way through the season would suddenly come 107 percent uncompetitive.
I think it should be that if a car does not complete one lap in qualifying then its not in the race. It would make things extra interesting and also stop this current feeling that qualifying is getting less important as the BBC touched on today.
Robin.
So isn't having the 107 percent rule totally irrelevant if they can use free practice lap times as a measure of whether a car is competitive enough to compete?
The only time the rule would ever be used is at the start of a season when a team is completely unprepared (like with HRT). It is implausible that a team mid way through the season would suddenly come 107 percent uncompetitive.
I think it should be that if a car does not complete one lap in qualifying then its not in the race. It would make things extra interesting and also stop this current feeling that qualifying is getting less important as the BBC touched on today.
Robin.