Bahrain qualifying could be musical chairs hybrid

F1 is heading into its second consecutive grand prix of 2016 amid looming uncertainty about the qualifying format.

In Melbourne, the to-ing and fro-ing about the new 'musical chairs' format culminated in the farcical session on Saturday, and a rapid decision by the team bosses to tear it up ahead of Bahrain.

"Thank god we decided all together and without any reluctance to immediately apologise to the people who follow us and reset everything for the next race," F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda told La Repubblica.

But now, it emerges that the F1 Commission may actually be asked only to tweak the existing format rather than scrap it.

Italy's Autosprint claims the proposal is to revert Q3 to its 2015-style format, whilst leaving Q1 and Q2 with the controversial 'musical chairs'-style 90 second countdowns.

The report said members of the F1 Commission, including key sponsors and circuits, have received the proposal from the FIA for a fax vote, and the 'hybrid' version of musical chairs with a 2015-style Q3 is the only option.

"The vote must be made by Thursday 24 March," Autosprint correspondent Alberto Sabbatini revealed, so that the new system can be in place for Bahrain.