Ecclestone ecstatic over new system

Bernie Ecclestone praised Formula One’s new qualifying system after a dramatic knock-out session in Bahrain today.

Michael Schumacher took top spot to equal Ayrton Senna’s record of 65 pole positions and cap a thrilling hour’s action.

In contrast to the pedestrian one-lap system, the new knock-out format – which eliminates six drivers after each of two 15-minute sessions before a final shoot-out – proved action-packed.

The new season started with a bang as world championship hopeful Kimi Raikkonen suffered suspension failure in the first session, leaving him the most high-profile victim of the first 15 minutes.

That, and the tense final seconds as Schumacher grabbed pole, were exactly what Ecclestone planned when he proposed the new qualifying.

The sport’s commercial rights holder said: “It’s very good. It’s precisely what I wanted to happen – some of the good guys getting knocked out in the first session.

“It makes it much more exciting. It’s producing what we thought about – it looks good and has worked well.

“It’s going to be a good championship. You can see that the top half a dozen cars are all very competitive. I’m very, very happy with this format.”

Jenson Button, who starts tomorrow’s race from third, believes the new system will shake up the order throughout the season and promote some exciting racing.

One of the main reasons behind the change was to have many cars on track at the same time, without the long spells of inactivity which previous free-for-alls had suffered from.

Button believes the 2006 format, which was voted for by fans, is an ideal solution.

The Honda driver said: “The new qualifying system is quite interesting. It’s always go, you are always doing something.

“For me was very exciting. I’m sure it’s the same for all the fans out there.

“It was non-stop, especially with Raikkonen having his problem. It was good fun and it’s nice to be up here in third.

“It’s great having to do it at certain times in the hour – we have to be out on the circuit three times.

“It’s good for the fans and I’m sure it’s going to make for some upsets this season and very different grids.”

Former world champion Schumacher, who has criticised the sport for tinkering with qualifying in the past, offered his approval.

“It matters very much what the fans think but it looks like after so many changes we have achieved something that is more exciting and everybody likes it,” he added.

“There is more opportunities and it is fairer if there are changing weather conditions and so on.”