In the aftermath of Monza, at the time Brawn said: “Monza was a candidate for a reverse-grid sprint race when we were considering testing the format this year. Unfortunately, we could not move forward with it.
“But the concept is still something we and the FIA want to work through in the coming months and discuss with the teams for next year.
“We believe that race showed the excitement a mixed-up pack can deliver, and with next year’s cars remaining the same as this year, our fans could be treated to the similar drama we saw at Monza.”
You can imagine Wolff's reaction, which was condemnatory, to say the least. “I don't think we should be designing freak results where it is almost to overtake just because we believe the pecking order should be a different one,” asserted Wolff.
“F1 is a meritocracy, a sport where the best man and best machine wins. This is not worldwide wrestling where the outcome is completely random.
“If you want to do random, let's make it a show. But the core DNA of a sport is being a sport, and then an entertainment platform, but it's not a show, it's not Big Brother, and I don't think we should be going there.”
On this occasion, Wolff naturally requires support from two other teams for Brawn to again be left frustrated. Unlike last time when there were nods of approval from the drivers – perhaps due to a degree of boredom they were experiencing during lockdown and they were willing to try anything – the majority are now firmly against.