NEWS » crew was in town for the series opener against the Mariners

F1s knockout qualifying system is to undergo a radical shake-up - potentially as early as the new 2016 season - in a bid to introduce more unpredictability into race weekends. The FIA has confirmed the F1 Commission unanimously voted to revamp the current three-part Saturday format when it met to discuss future rules in Geneva on Tuesday.The governing body has also announced plans to introduce some form of cockpit protection for 2017 with the halo concept currently the preferred option. New bodywork regulations will also be introduced for next season in order to create more exciting cars, delivering additional downforce to increase speeds and lower lap times.Qualifying to be revampedF1 has held three-part knockout qualifying sessions since 2006, and while the structure of Q1, Q2 and Q3 sessions will be retained, there will be more regular eliminations during the hour of running.Under the proposal, Q1 would last for 16 minutes and after seven minutes the slowest driver would be knocked out and forced to return to the pit lane. Six more drivers would then be eliminated at 90-second intervals before the session concluded. Qualifying hours could be more frenetic in 2016 With 15 drivers left in the running, a 15-minute Q2 session would then take place with the next slowest driver knocked out after six minutes followed by four more at 90-second intervals.Eight rather than 10 drivers would then take part in the final Q3 session to determine pole position. This phase would increase from 10 to 14 minutes in length but the driver with the slowest time would be eliminated after five minutes and then one more every 90 seconds.The fastest two drivers would then be left to contest pole in the final minute and a half of the session. F1 Testing: Live Follow the latest updates from pre-season testing in Barcelona The idea really is that it will be the same as qualifying in wet conditions, said F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. Maybe one or two of the hot-shoes arent going to make it [to the front]. So we wont see the obvious on the front of the grid.The FIA stated the changes are being evaluated for introduction, potentially as soon as the beginning of the 2016 season. Provided the plans go ahead after further analysis, they will have to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council on March 4 to be included for the new season which begins in Australia on March 20.While the current qualifying format has been deemed a success over the past decade, it appears team chiefs believe more constant eliminations during the hour will increase the chances of creating more unpredictable grids with driver or team mistakes more heavily penalised. Rachel Brookes brings you the latest updates from pre-season testing in Barcelona. Sky F1 commentator David Croft tweeted: Cant say whether the new qualy format will be a change for the better until we get the full details but I do wonder why it needed a change?With the rules necessitating that cars are on track more often during the hour, the prospect of cars running into traffic while navigating past eliminated cars on their way back to the pits would increase.So, musical chairs qualifying its to be? said Sky F1 analyst Mark Hughes. Stewards are going to need eyes in backs of heads to see every single blocking move, esp Q1.Ted Kravitz is not convinced the idea will succeed in ensuring the fastest cars are on track more often during the hour.I wonder whether the F1 bosses on the Commission pay attention to how F1 cars produce quick qualifying times, he said. The best times are set when the tyre is on its first or second hot lap. After that, the best performance of the tyre is gone and the lap times dont improve. Constant eliminations would increase the prospect of drivers finding each other at different speeds on track So the reality is that teams will not just go out onto the track and keep going round and round to set quicker times. Theyll go out, set what they hope is the quickest time on a fresh tyre, come back in, and let the slower cars get dropped one by one as the session progresses.In addition to rules for the forthcoming season, the Geneva meetings were aimed at establishing a resolution on regulations for 2017 amid attempts to make cars faster and more dramatic-looking. The deadline has been pushed back to April 30, but agreement has been reached on increases to the width and weight of cars.Future F1 needs a masterplan, not bubble bursts of random ideas that find a way through the many faceted and largely impenetrable systems, said Martin Brundle.However, in a move that is likely to be welcomed by the majority of drivers, the Commission agreed on the introduction of some form of cockpit protection from 2017 with the Mercedes-inspired halo concept set to be adopted. The halo cockpit protection for drivers has moved one step closer to being introduced from next year The first race of the 2016 F1 season, the Australian GP, is exclusively live on Sky Sports F1. The race in Melbourne starts at 5am on Sunday March 20. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here Also See: F1 in 2016: All the details WATCH: Latest testing updates Barry Sanders Youth Jersey . 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With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota.BOSTON -- Boston manager John Farrell is certainly on-board with expanding the use of replays in baseball after an admitted blown call cost the Red Sox the potential tying run in a loss a night earlier. Speaking to reporters at Fenway Park on Tuesday night about three hours before Boston opened a three-game series against Seattle, Farrell said he believes that with better technology baseball can get more "out or safe" calls correct. Trailing by a run in the eighth inning of a 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Monday, pinch-runner Daniel Nava was called out by home plate umpire Jerry Meals attempting to score on a fly ball. After watching the replay, Meals later admitted to a pool reporter from the Associated Press that he was "wrong on my decision." Major League Baseball is looking at a vast expansion of video review by umpires for the 2014 season and is examining whether all calls other than balls and strikes should be subject to instant replay. Currently, baseball uses replay only for home runs, but Farrell thinks the game would be better served by expanding its use. "In plays like last night, I think it furthers the debate," he said. "Ive always felt that the advances in technology, how its come into the game, theres no reason to think that it cant be used to a greater extent without prolonging the time of the game, particularly on plays that are not continual plays. That was out or safe. Theres really no other continuance, such as a play thats in the gap with multiple men on and less than two outs." The use of replay has been in place for home run calls since August 2008. Commissioner Bud Selig initially wanted to add trap plays and fair/foul calls down the lines for 2013, but change was put off while more radical opttions were examined.dddddddddddd In Mondays game, replays showed that Nava slid into the top portion of the plate before Rays catcher Jose Molina came across to make the tag. Farrell and Nava argued, with Farrell getting ejected. About 25 minutes after the game, standing in the umpires room, Meals said: "What I saw was Molina blocked the plate and Navas foot lifted. But in the replays, you could clearly see Navas foot got under for a split second and then lifted, so I was wrong on my decision. From the angle I had, I did not see his foot get under Molinas shin guard." With the loss, the Rays retook first place in the AL East, jumping over Boston to grab a half-game lead. The same umpiring crew was in town for the series opener against the Mariners. Farrell just wants to see the calls made correctly and understands that the lengthening of games is an option that the league is likely trying to avoid. "I know its an ongoing conversation with the commissioners office and those that are on the field committee," he said. "How its ultimately implemented, I think thats the challenge in all of this. I know theres a lot of sensitivity in the overall time of game to not slow things down. In situations like last night, I think the most important thing and the overriding thing is to call things the way they should be." When discussing the options other professional leagues use, Farrell even had a solution. "I think theres a limit to how many times you can challenge a call," he said. When asked if "once" would be OK with him, he said: "Id be in favour of it." The first-year Boston manager even had an idea. "There could be one guy in New York that could monitor all the games." ' ' '