 The new qualifying format was criticised immediately after the end of the session by pundits , drivers and team personnel alike . Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle called for a swift revision of the rules , saying the procedure was " not acceptable " and calling for it to be abandoned before the next race . Mercedes 's executive director Toto Wolff and former driver Johnny Herbert were equally critical , describing it as " rubbish " and " embarrassing " . Red Bull team director Christian Horner was apologetic , describing the format as " [ not ] good for Formula One . " Niki Lauda , non @-@ executive chairman at Mercedes , was in agreement , calling it " a big mistake . " Particular criticism was aimed at the fact that many drivers did not get enough time to improve on their lap times , seeing many getting out of their cockpits while still technically in contention . 1996 World Champion Damon Hill observed that pole @-@ sitter Hamilton " could have waved his own chequered flag [ ... ] with four minutes still to go . " Nico Rosberg acknowledged that it had " not worked " , while Sebastian Vettel was equally critical , describing it as " the wrong way to go . " Lewis Hamilton joined the criticism but acknowledged the attempt to revitalise the format . Bernie Ecclestone , the commercial rights holder of Formula One , spoke out against the format as well , declaring it to be " pretty crap " . On the day of the race , the teams of Formula 1 voted a proposal to go back to the qualifying format as it had been in previous seasons , which was rejected by the FIA 's F1 Commission . 
