Mark Webber shocked by F1's qualifying fiasco

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix was one of the most exciting Formula 1 races in recent memory, but the first week of the series' experimental qualifying system was an unmitigated disaster. 

Just before the start of the season, Formula 1 adopted a new elimination-style qualifying format with the hopes that it would create more action on track, but in reality it delivered an unwatchable mess. It took all of a few minutes for fans, analysts, and drivers to determine that the system simply isn't going to work. 

F1 teams initially agreed to revert to the 2015 qualifying system, which was usually entertaining and would have fixed the issue. A later proposal to create a hybrid format using a mix of the 2015 and 2016 rules was submitted to the F1 Commission last week, but the vote to adopt the changes was not unanimous, meaning fans are stuck with the same broken system from Australia for at least another week.  

Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who now serves as an analyst for Channel Four in the UK, can't believe the series hasn't ditched the new format. 

Via the Daily Mail:

Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff echoed the frustrations of many in the sport earlier this week, and concluded that it isn't likely qualifying will be any more entertaining in Bahrain this weekend. Webber explains that one of the chief problems is that elimination qualifying shifts the focus to the slowest drivers in the field.