Ross Brawn says the drama of watching the midfield teams fight for victory at Monza proves Formula 1 should consider reverse grid races.

Last year, the F1 motorsport boss first touted the idea of swapping qualifying with a sprint race what would see the grid decided by reversing the championship order at some pre-determined races.

That was blocked as was a second attempt to introduce the same format at circuits holding two races in the revised 2020 schedule, though only Mercedes would prevent the unanimous support needed.

But after the excitement of seeing Pierre Gasly hold off Carlos Sainz in the closing laps to win and Lewis Hamilton making his way through from the back, Brawn believes last Sunday offered a glimpse at what a reverse grid race would be like.

"Monza was a candidate for a reverse-grid sprint race when we were considering testing the format this year," he revealed in his Formula1.com column. "Unfortunately, we could not move forward with it.

"But the concept is still something we and the FIA want to work through in the coming months and discuss with the teams for next year.

"We believe that yesterday’s race showed the excitement a mixed-up pack can deliver, and with next year’s cars remaining the same as this year, our fans could be treated to the similar drama we saw this weekend at Monza."

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One argument against was that, given the pace difference between the top and bottom teams, the leading drivers would simply cruise through the field.

But after Valtteri Bottas passed only one car, that being Kimi Raikkonen, during Sunday's race, the former Mercedes boss thinks the reverse grid would challenge the German manufacturer.

"Of course, with a reverse-grid sprint race, teams will set their cars up differently," Brawn added,

"Right now, Mercedes set their cars up to achieve the fastest lap and then to control the race from the front. If they know they have to overtake, they will have to change that approach.

"We will continue to evaluate new formats with the aim of improving the show but always maintaining the DNA of Formula 1."

Drivers have long been against the idea, believing it to be too gimmicky, but Hamilton is willing to be open on one condition.

“We’ve had the same weekend format for God knows how long so it gets a bit boring when it’s the same thing every weekend but I don’t have a suggestion," he said.

“Give it up to the fans. Find out what the fans want. [The current qualifying format is] OK. I wish we had more laps, more tyres, more laps, that would be fine.”

If F1 wants to shake-up qualifying though, Carlos Sainz believes they should consider a previous format.

“I think the qualifying format works, I think the fans are pretty happy with it," he said.

“Would I like to try something different? Yes, I think there might be scope for some experimenting, especially because we run into 2022 with new regs and maybe next year is a good time to experiment a bit.

“I’m a big fan, looking back on the days of super-pole I really enjoyed a lot seeing cars on their own and drivers under pressure on their own on track and the cameras being able to focus on you on for that one lap and getting that pressure up.

“Maybe it would work that you could make super pole for the last five cars of qualifying or the top ten or the Q3 cars but I think the rest of the format honestly works and it keeps the fans excited with this knockout format.”