Formula One: Change races, not qualifying, says Red Bull boss Christian Horner

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes the current Formula One qualifying procedure works just fine and that any changes designed to make the sport more exciting should come during races instead of tweaking methods how to form the grid.

Qualifying for the last grand prix in Monza ended in farcical circumstances as the final 10-car shootout ended with seven cars failing to set times at the end of the session as they sought to avoid acting as a slipstream for their rivals and started their last laps too late.

Rumours circulating around the paddock have suggested the teams are favouring the prospect of a sprint race on Saturday (Sept 21) to determine the grid for the main race a day later but Horner feels the current system does not need modifying.

"There's been lots of questions about qualifying but for me I think it works really well," the Briton told reporters on Friday ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

"There are three sessions, it's not too complicated and it builds to a crescendo. For your fairly passive viewer it's relatively straightforward.

"However, I think the problem we have at the moment is that as a result of the qualifying, the fastest cars at the front at a track like this - if it's a one-stop race - the grid positions are going to pretty much dictate, bar reliability, where the cars are going to finish."

Horner used this year's German Grand Prix as an example of how unexpected conditions can change a race's outcome after unpredictable weather, coupled with team and driver errors allowed Red Bull's Max Verstappen to claim an unlikely victory as several leading contenders suffered poor results.

"There needs to be the ability to have other strategies in a race that creates a little more jeopardy, creates more risk and reward," Horner added.

"We have seen some of the most exciting races (like the German Grand Prix) where all analysis goes out the window. Then you are just reacting on instinct to what's happening at the time. You cannot strategise for something like that.

"Grand Prix teams today are so good at analysing the data and maximising the performance from the start to the finish of a race. I think if we can add in more variants to a race, but not artificially, that would be incredible."