Last Friday, at the online meeting of the FIA and F1, the issue of introducing reverse grid to the championship format was raised again. This idea was actively discussed last season, when many teams and drivers opposed such a way. However this issue has now been raised again and a decision on it should be made next week.

Adding to the complexity of this issue is the fact that the planned races, which start in July, will be held mostly behind closed doors, and reverse grid will help increase the interest of TV viewers in the races.

Some formats were discussed in Friday’s meeting, and the consensus was that a definitive version should be compiled by the FIA.

The idea is that a 30-minute qualifying race would replace regular qualifying on the second weekend, with the starting order based on the current championship order. 

The rest of the weekend would run as normal, with the regular FP1, FP2 and FP3 sessions. Grid penalties will be applied to the main race on Sunday.

All 10 teams are involved in making decision on this issue. The "60% rule", introduced specifically for the time of quarantine, does not work in this case, since the issue with reverse grid is not considered urgent.

It’s believed almost all teams said yes on the new idea, including Ferrari, however Mercedes made its opposition clear. Some other teams stated they also need more time to consider it.