Let us immediately apply the 107 percent rule and dismiss Montermini, Moreno, Lavaggi, and Diniz. Even within this pathetic group of pretenders (both drivers and teams), Lavaggi managed to qualify over four seconds slower than Montermini and Diniz qualified nearly six seconds slower than Moreno. When I see these efforts within today's grid, I am only reminded how much work is left in FIA/FOCA circles to restore Formula One to its proclaimed pinnacle of motorsport.
With those lackeys out of the way, name the driver who was most out-qualified by his teammate. Michael Schumacher! Yes, Schumacher's qualification time was nearly three seconds slower than teammate Herbert. Rumors from Spa had Michael leaving the track and never taking the grid on Sunday. My commitment to qualifying analysis means that I never really see the race--does anybody remember where he finished? Luca Badoer was the next worst relative qualifier, and Damon Hill was the third worst relative qualifier (I wonder what happened to him as well?).
The weather obviously threw off the grid to proportions unseen in 1995. In many ways, the grid at Spa appeared to be drawn randomly. Hill pulled a bad number, and Schumacher's unlucky draw had him deep in the field (especially deep when the 107% rule is applied). Although no one cared at the time, Martin Brundle was wedged in between these two superstars.
OK, the race was run on Sunday, and look at what happened? We all saw some entertaining racing all over the track for at least 30 minutes. Then, the laws of nature took over and cream began to rise to the top. Before long, it was business-as-usual, and Schumacher breezed home for the win, Hill finished second, and someone else got an opportunity to taste a little champagne. People left the track wet and tired, and American television share decline even further. Like it or not, the 1995 race in Spa may have killed Friday Formula One racing for years to come!
Face it--the FIA brass have openly stated that Friday is expendable, and events at Spa strongly suggest that all qualifying could be eliminated. In a two-hour Grand Prix, the Diniz and Lavaggi fraternity could be given a ten-lap head start and they would still be no where in sight at the end of the day. Schumacher and Hill could slowly walk to the grid after everyone else has started, shake hands, suit-up, and within an hour, they would be near the leaders, either ahead of close behind.
I love qualifying as much or more than most Formula One fans, and I would hate to see Friday and Saturday reduced to anything less than what it has become in the past few years. But I am a realist and events at Spa drive home the point that qualifying is actually irrelevant in terms of race results, but very relevant in terms of a driver's marketability. Maybe Friday could be an open test day, Saturday could be the 107 percent cut day (based on fastest lap all day), and Sunday's race positions could be determined by a combination of total laps run during the weekend, fastest five laps on Saturday, and fastest lap on Sunday morning. We could see the cars on the track all three days, we would have some sense of competition throughout, and even if the grid had some unusual stagger, we would still see some great racing during the big show.