Ross Brawn is open to the idea of introducing reverse grids into Formula 1 – but is wary that the sport would be running the risk of becoming "too synthetic".
Since owners Liberty Media took over the running of the sport, they have been keen to add more exciting action on race weekends. In theory it's good news for fans as they get to see more racing, though the driving motivation from Liberty's perspective is, of course, the financial benefits.
Sprint Qualifying is a prime example – adding an extra short-form race to selected weekends, but it's not an innovation which has been universally popular. As is often the case when change occurs, there is some resistance from people who like things exactly the way they are.
Brawn has been discussing the sport's future as he waves goodbye to F1. The Ferrari icon and former owner of the eponymous team - which won the 2009 title in its one and only season - feels the Sprint has been a success but, despite some calls for other new formats, is wary of making too many changes.
One such suggestion has been the introduction of reverse grids, which is used in some other racing series. Brawn admits he would be interested to see how it would work in F1, but warned that there would likely be significant backlash from some fans who feel it would harm it as a sporting competition.
"There's always this debate about reverse grids," he told Motorsport.com. "Reverse grids would be pretty entertaining. I think most of us would love to see what would happen.
"But there is an element of our fans who think that's getting too synthetic, too [similar to a] World Wrestling sort of thing, and that you should reward the best guys and so on. I get that as well and I think we've got to be very cautious on that side of things.
"You have a Sprint race and, for me, a sprint race can only add because it's a competition, it's a contest, best guy wins, smartest guy wins – it's a meritocracy. It's just an additional demonstration of the drivers' talents during a race weekend. I think the Sprint is great.
"I can't see why anyone would really have a problem with that. That should, if they've got an open mind, appeal to all our fans. I can see why a reverse grid could be divisive and could unsettle some of our fans and that's something we've got to [keep in mind]."
