F3 qualifying disagreement!

[Francesca]

The current F3 qualifying procedure has been criticised by some teams due to the expansion in the number of cars this year. At the last meeting at Snetterton, 35 cars were lapping with very little space, giving way to plenty of red flags.
Two ideas for improvement have been mentioned:
IDEA ONE – Each class could have 10 minutes separate from the other class.
IDEA TWO – Each session could be lengthened by 10 minutes, making the qualifying 40 minutes each time.

The downside of IDEA ONE is that the top teams will be able to make use of the ten minutes but other teams may take longer to work up to their fastest times. Also it may be confusing to the spectators.

IDEA TWO seems fairer to the teams and would also be good for the fans as the cars will be on track for longer.

But how about...

IDEA THREE – Split the classes up. Have two 30 minute sessions for the Championship Class and two 20 minute sessions for the Scholarship Class.

What do you think?

[Marshal]

In a way the current system is good as you might end up with some funny grids, but I'd go for 40 min sessions with the first 10 mins being only scholarship cars and the last 10 being only championship cars.

[dienekes]

The trouble with giving each class their own qualifying session is that the grid for the race is combined. What happens if the scholarship runners get some dry track time, only for it to rain for the championship cars? You will end up with the first 5 - 6 rows of scholarship cars, and all the championship cars at the back. It might be rather amusing, but can you imagine the fuss that the championship drivers/teams would kick up??