Qualifying changes slightly

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The FIA World Motor Sport Council has agreed to change Formula 1's much-maligned qualifying format from the Bahrain Grand Prix onwards following a meeting in Paris today.The Saturday of a grand prix will now feature two separate one-lap qualifying sessions instead of the drawn-out combined session used so far this season.

The first qualifying session, called pre-qualifying, which determines the order drivers will run in qualifying will now begin at 13.00 local time. Qualifying for the grid now begins at 14.00. Saturday's free practice sessions have also been moved to start an hour earlier.

It is likely that television companies will now decide to broadcast only the second of the two sessions live after the back-to-back qualifying session used so far this year was slammed as boring by viewers, spectators and teams alike.