By Huw Alban
March 16 2006

The 2006 season sees an entirely new format for qualifying; a format that looks complicated at first glance. Here is MF1Os guide to the ins-and-outs of this seasons qualifying rules, and Midland F1s own assessment. Recently Midland F1 published their own guide on the official team website, which is probably the clearest I've read to date. I'm going to use this guide unashamedly as the basis for this story (with, of course, grateful thanks to Midland F1 :o) )

At the start of the hour long session all the competitors will be out on the track at the same time. At the end of the first 15 minutes the slowest 6 cars will be removed from the track. This will set race grid positions 22nd to 17th with the fastest car out of this 6 in 17th place.

All the times are then reset, and the remaining cars go all out for another 15 minutes at the end of which the next 6 slowest cars are removed. These 6 will claim race grid positions 16th to 11th.

The times are reset again, and the final 10 take to the track for 20 minutes in order to set the grid for the top 10 race start positions. Those top 10 drivers must start that final session with what will effectively be their fuel load for the start of the race. The more laps they drive, the lighter they get, and the faster they will be on their final runs. Using the number of laps run as part of a standardised formula to determine consumption, the FIA will then ensure that the cars are ballasted back up to the correct fuel level for the start of the race.

The 12 that were removed during the first two 15 minute sessions can start the race with whatever fuel level they want.

So, where will Midland F1 want to be and realistically what are they capable of?

“It’ll be interesting,” said Sporting Director Adrian Burgess on the official Midland F1 website recently. “The new system will throw up a few scenarios now and again where people don’t get it together within that small window of opportunity. Regs like that throw the ball up in the air a little bit, and we’re confident that we can punch above our weight every now and again. It’s not going to be easy – we know that – but it’s a challenge we accept.

“We can respond and react as well as the rest of them, and I’d like to think there will be times when we can do it on pace rather than luck. We’ve got a target. We don’t always want to be among the first six knocked out, so we’ve got something to aim for.”