It's a risk and reward thing. The teams are reacting to and covering each other. If no one is out pushing for your spot and if you don't think you can beat the guy ahead, no point in going out and risking a crash. The old format took advantage of an improving track, so drivers were motivated to run deep into the session. Hopefully they will go back to what worked.
Haas and Mclaren didn't get to show their speed. This may make the race interesting.
