Mark Webber is shocked by F1's failure to scrap the unpopular live elimination format in time for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.
F1's new qualifying format had a shambolic debut in Australia and was widely condemned by drivers, team bosses and even Bernie Ecclestone himself. Despite the overwhelming desire to change it in time for Bahrain last week the Strategy Group was unable to unanimously vote to switch to a hybrid format of the old and new rules.
Webber, a nine-time grand prix winner and an analyst on Channel 4's F1 coverage, is frustrated the negativity towards the new format in Australia led to nothing.
"I thought we were leaving Melbourne in good shape with a decision to go back to a system which was working pretty well," Webber told the Daily Mail. "But that's not the case and we are back to the Melbourne scenario which even at its best it will struggle to equal what we had.
"When we switch a TV on it should be this is qualifying, who has the fastest lap time in the tank in terms of the driver pushing absolute commitment and do a phenomenal lap? And if you do can, you go a tenth quicker. I want to go back out and respond. And that was the problem in Melbourne, people couldn't respond as there wasn't enough tyres or enough time.
"Now we've gone way too far and drivers are pigeon holed and restricted into operational running times they don't always want."
Webber says the new format places too much emphasis on the drivers who miss out -- the slower drivers -- rather than those going for the top places.
For me the beef I've got is we are still focusing on the driver that's on the bubble or the driver that's slow trying to get into that session. Now with all due respect we are focusing on Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez or young Esteban Gutierrez, now that's fine. But we've also got to be focusing on the laps the big boys are doing to form the first few rows of the grid."