Todt is clear about reversed grids: "For me, that's not racing"
General
- GPblog.com
At Monza, Pierre Gasly won a surprising victory. He did this in a season where Mercedes dominates. According to Jean Todt, President of the FIA, it is very good for F1 that a smaller team wins, but Todt says he is not in favour of changing the grid.
Talks about a reversed grid have been going on since the beginning of the F1 season. It should have brought excitement and surprises. According to Todt, those surprises should come naturally and not by turning the grid upside down. "Surprises are the essence of the sport.
Artificially racing doesn't work
However, Todt does not think that reversed grids will help with that tension. In Formula 2 and Formula 3 there is a reversed grid, where the top eight or top ten are backwards on the grid for the second race. Todt doesn't like that at all. "I really don't like that, it's not racing to me", explains Todt.
"It doesn't work if you make it artificially exciting," explains Todt in an interview with Auto, Motor und Sport. Even if the bill ever reaches the FIA to introduce reversed grids in Formula 1, Todt will be the first to vote against it. "I will vote against, but if the majority is in favour, I will accept", concludes Todt.