This week, F1 Sports Manager Ross Brawn said Formula One “will continue to evaluate new formats with the aim of improving the show while maintaining the DNA of F1,” with the Englishman referring directly to the reverse grids.

Plans to introduce reverse grid sprint races now only require a majority rather than unanimity among teams, which could make their introduction easier in the future.

But once again, Mercedes team manager Toto Wolff insisted that introducing reverse grid sprint races was more reality TV than sport.

“I don’t think we should play with any of the formats,” Wolff said.

“It’s not because I have a Mercedes bias. On the contrary, I like variability and unpredictability, and we’ll have races that will be very different like the Monza race.

“But nobody wants a winner from an reversed grid. I don’t think we should design abnormal results where it is almost impossible to exceed, simply because we think the order should be different.

“It’s a meritocracy, it’s a sport where the best man and the best machine win, and it’s not the WWE [wrestling], where the result is completely random.

“If you’re going to make a show of it, let’s make a show of it. But I think the basic DNA of sport is to be a sport and then an entertainment platform.

“It’s not a show. It’s not a reality show, and it’s not Big Brother, and I don’t think we should do that. ”