JohnnyGuitar wrote:
Greg92 wrote:
I'd like to see race fuel qualifying.

That pic is overdone and unwarranted here. I can easily reply "Not sure if I should waste my time with a buffoon".
The idea is very simple and generated mostly by the talks of Red Bull's qualy pace v. race pace and Vettel's "controversy" at the 2012 Abu Dhabi GP.
The problem with low fuel qualifying is that cars that have better race pace under heavy fuel but worse qualy pace on low fuel like arguably Ferrari are disadvantaged as they'll end up behind the cars with better qualy pace but worse heavy fuel pace such as Red Bull or Mercedes before they took a wrong development turn. This means that in the first half of the race and maybe more, Ferrari cars (following the example above) will spend their most advantaged period of the race trying to overtake the other cars which is not always easy due to tires and so on, but even when they do, by the time they make it the advantage has most likely shifted back to the other cars because they're running on low fuel levels now. I find this unfair.
My proposal is very simple for those unsure if I'm serious or not. Keep the qualy format as is with three separate elimination sessions. All cars run in Q1 with race fuel levels + enough fuel for the qualy laps in that session. The bottom 6, or whatever number they decide upon with the new grid, start the race with whatever fuel they have left. Before the start of the Q2 session, the remaining cars refuel with enough fuel for the planned qualy laps for the Q2 session. The next bottom 6 that are eliminated start again with whatever fuel they have left. Before the start of the Q3 session, the top 10 guys can add enough fuel for the planned Q3 qualy laps and at the end of the session they're not allowed to refuel anymore. You get it wrong at any time, or you try to cheat the system and the penalty is too harsh because you won't be able to finish the race. No more grid penalties or relegation for getting it wrong and no more setup changes.
This way at least you know that the fastest guys for the first laps will start on the first rows. If a car has an advantage on low fuel levels, they'll get a chance at the end but only after the cars that are faster on high fuel levels have used their own advantage. And maybe, just maybe, teams will focus on setting up their cars for optimal pace under heavy fuel instead of trying to do what Red Bull does: grab pole and maintain position until the fuel levels drop. Let's not forget, most of the race is run under heavy fuel.
For those that have been patient enough to read this or consider it a serious post, if you happen to get the fuel levels wrong, IMO it serves you right to DNF. This is a professional sport and you get paid enough money for your expertise. A DNF is even more appropriate if you try to cheat like for example underfueling in Q1 or Q2 so you can get to the next session where you can refuel again and add the difference. In this case FIA can easily monitor and even regulate the fuel levels added before Q2 and Q3 but more importantly, if you plan on doing this, you run the risk of others doing it as well which means you can still end up eliminated after the session and therefore unable to refuel anymore. Was that serious enough?