New Formula 1 qualifying format introduced this season

Formula 1 will have a new qualifying format this season as part of changes that will help make the sport more exciting, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Reuters, the 85-year-old confirmed that the change, agreed unanimously by teams on Tuesday, would be introduced at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 20 once the governing body had formally approved it.

"The idea really is that it will be the same as qualifying in wet conditions. Maybe one or two of the hotshoes aren't going to make it (to the front). So we won't see the obvious on the front of the grid," he said in a telephone interview.

The new format will see the slowest drivers eliminated while the qualifying sessions are still going on, rather than having to make a cut at the end of each phase before the final pole shootout.

Meetings of the F1 Strategy Group and the F1 Commission were held [Tuesday] in Geneva, with a number of constructive proposals being agreed.

Upon the recommendation of the Strategy Group, the F1 Commission passed a series of new measures designed to deliver a faster, more spectacular FIA Formula One World Championship.

A new qualification format was unanimously accepted by the F1 Commission. The new system is being evaluated for introduction, potentially as soon as the beginning of the 2016 season.

The basis of the new elimination format is as follows:

The final elimination in each session occurs at the chequered flag – not when time is up.