2016 · SPORTING
2016 Sporting Regulations
2016 opened with an 'elimination qualifying' format in which the slowest car on track every 90 seconds was eliminated. After two rounds the format was reversed — teams and fans hated it (cars queued in pit lane waiting for the clock) and the classic Q1/Q2/Q3 format returned. 21 rounds. Nico Rosberg took his only World Championship and retired a week later.
Chapters
Elimination qualifying fiasco
The new format ran only at Australia and Bahrain before being scrapped. Teams sent cars out in long queues to avoid being the slowest on the active lap, producing long stretches where no one was actually running. It remains F1's most notorious one-round-and-scrap sporting rule.
Last updated: 2026-04-24
This summary is editorial material prepared by F1pedia for general F1 audiences. It is not a legal reference. For binding rule text, consult the official FIA document.