Formula 1 chief Ross Brawn has promised the integrity of the sport will be maintained with the introduction of qualifying races next year.
Under plans given unanimous agreement by team bosses, F1 is set to replace the current format with a sprint race at only a couple of races in 2020, with the grid set in reverse championship order.
This has infuriated drivers though, with Sebastian Vettel giving the harshest criticism calling it “bulls**t”, but efforts are underway to address their concerns.
“We’ve had our first discussion with them. They want to see the format fleshed out, which is fair because we’ve got the concept, we’ve got to work out the detail,” Brawn told Channel 4.
“So I think when we do that then it’d be fair to discuss it with the drivers and what we’d say is ‘give it a chance’ because it might not work, but otherwise how do we progress?
“Most sports these days are looking at how they progress. Maintaining the integrity of what we are – we don’t want to spoil that – but can we enhance it and add some extra interest?”
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The Briton then went on to explain the theory behind the concept.
“The intention is to have two or three races where instead of qualifying we have a reverse-grid sprint race.
“We’re interested to know if the sprint race can complement the main race and how it would fit. So we want to see what the public response would be, we want to see if it’s got a place in Grand Prix racing or if it does not,” Brawn said.
“Obviously it would be a race that’s come after the championship has established some order. You couldn’t have it too early in the season because it wouldn’t reflect.
“I think what we often see is drivers can show us who’s the fastest. What we want to see is who’s the best racer where they have to overtake to achieve their grid positions.”
Speaking in Sochi, however, Daniel Ricciardo voiced frustration that such ideas were only being put to drivers through the media.
“That’s something which we as drivers are sometimes pretty frustrated about,” said the Aussie.
“Things will get put in front of us, ‘they [the rulemakers] are talking about this, they’re actually fairly deep into this discussion’ – and we’re like, well, why haven’t we been told about this?
“That’s why we’ve been trying to put in more of a team effort, the last few years, to make sure we are involved a lot more.
“Because over the years some things have been decided without addressing us drivers – and, you know, whether we’re paying the bills or not, we are the core of the whole show.
“Especially if it’s something that we feel strongly on, then I think our opinion is more valuable than really anyone else’s. I think we’re making progress, but they don’t always like to involve us – in the past, they haven’t.”