Mercedes Motorsport Dir Toto Wolff said that Formula One’s "much-derided new qualifying format faces more criticism in Bahrain this weekend after a disappointing debut in Australia," according to REUTERS. The Austrian also "warned that the sport was under scrutiny and needed to think carefully to extricate itself from a self-imposed problem." Wolff said, "This weekend we will see the new qualifying system continue after a less-than-impressive debut in Australia. The teams were unanimous in their opinion of it on Sunday in Melbourne and it wasn't a positive opinion. We haven't found the right format with this change and it's hard to see how it might be more entertaining for the fans this weekend in Bahrain." Wolff said in Melbourne that the new format was "pretty rubbish" and needed changing. However, a subsequent meeting of teams and F1 stakeholders "failed to find unanimity and decided to leave it in place for at least one more race rather than be rushed into a knee-jerk decision." Wolff: "The fans want close racing, in a format they can understand, between the best drivers and cars in the world -- in that order. We should be capable of delivering that to the people in the grandstands and watching around the world" (REUTERS, 3/29).
