Racing is inherently more interesting when the competition is close, and different racing series try to encourage closer competition in different ways. Formula 1's 107% rule is an example of the second type of approach, since it only affects teams that were always going to be right at the back of the grid anyways. It states that any driver whose fastest qualifying lap in Q1 exceeds 107% of the time of the fastest driver will be excluded from the race, unless an exemption is made by the stewards. The rule was created to combat a rise in uncompetitive F1 cars in the '90s, with several of them causing problems on the track on race day. After the 107% rule came into force in 1996, these slow cars simply wouldn't be allowed into the final race unless they successfully convinced the stewards that exceptional circumstances were the reason that they couldn't set a fast enough time in qualifying.