McLaren's Boullier welcomes return of 'watchable, engaging' qualifying format

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has welcomed the FIA's decision to ditch its new Formula One qualifying format.

The governing body's new elimination-style system was adopted for the first two races of 2016 in Australia and Bahrain, but this change did not go down well.

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has welcomed the FIA's decision to ditch its new Formula One qualifying format.

The governing body's new elimination-style system was adopted for the first two races of 2016 in Australia and Bahrain, but this change did not go down well.

The FIA announced on Monday that, following a written request from all F1 teams, the format will be changed back to that used in previous years ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

And that decision has delighted Boullier, who said: "Next weekend will also see the return of the 2015 qualifying format, which is certainly a positive step for the fans and will hopefully offer a more watchable, engaging qualifying process than the interim solution we saw at the last couple of races.

"Operationally, the McLaren-Honda team will adapt in our usual way and make the most of the track time and resources available to us in each session.

"Tyres and power units will be the big talking points this weekend on this challenging, but nonetheless varied and interesting Shanghai International Circuit, so set-up, management and reliability will be key to ensuring we achieve our potential in China."