The FIA has announced drivers and teams will score double points at the final race of the season from next year.
The change, one of several items which the FIA said had been “unanimously approved”, has been made “in order to maximise focus on the championship until the end of the campaign”. It was agreed after meetings of the F1 Strategy Group and Formula One Commission today.
Points will be allocated as follows:
| Position | Normal race | Final race |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 25 | 50 |
| 2nd | 18 | 36 |
| 3rd | 15 | 30 |
| 4th | 12 | 24 |
| 5th | 10 | 20 |
| 6th | 8 | 16 |
| 7th | 6 | 12 |
| 8th | 4 | 8 |
| 9th | 2 | 4 |
| 10th | 1 | 2 |
The 2014 F1 season finale will take place at Abu Dhabi.
Over to you
What do you think of the change to the points system? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Should double points be awarded at the season finale?
- No opinion (1%)
- No (91%)
- Yes (8%)
Total Voters: 801
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PhilEReid (@philereid)
9th December 2013, 19:07
2 mandatory pit stops and double points? Nope. What is going on right now? Do we really want another gimmick involved with F1?
bananarama (@bananarama)
9th December 2013, 19:19
I suppose this was made up by the same guy who thought voting on who should have it easier to pass in FE is a good idea.
The only reason why they would do this is so they can make press releases that “the title is not decided yet” for longer and increase the likelihood of “title showdown at last race” which is quite pathetic. While I do like how this would have changed the last couple of championships, this doesn’t make any sense. Why not go one step further and give drivers the option to double their points at any race of their choosing, but a maximum of 3 times a year. And while we are at it, lets vote on who should get double points DOTW-style. And then lets vote on scrapping FIA altogether …
magon4 (@magon4)
9th December 2013, 19:30
One aspect of it I do like is that everyone will still have full motivation in the last race, forget about the title race in that respect.
Doubling is too much, maybe upping the win to 30 points would do the trick. I’d be ok with that.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
9th December 2013, 23:23
@magon4
They would anyway – they always want to win regardless of the championship situation.
And in circumstances such as we had this year, where one driver was already more than two wins ahead going into the final race, it would make absolutely no difference.
Richard
10th December 2013, 9:18
Hi Keith,
I understand it would only have changes the outcome of 3 championships and as you rightly point out it would have made no difference this year.
However, how many additional seasons would have gone down to the final race? I’m sure you have the stats hidden somewhere!
Just for the record I’m also extremely skeptical about what benefits this will really bring to the sport.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th December 2013, 11:56
Hi Richard, yesterday I saw someone had a look into that (I think it was Mr. Benson from the BBC), and the last championship that would have finished differently apart from those 3 would have been the 1994 season,
matt90 (@matt90)
9th December 2013, 23:38
I won’t. They might as well award points for who can execute the best handstand.
Bobby (@f1bobby)
10th December 2013, 18:23
Haha, love it. Great comment. It’s a complete joke, F1 has lost its way.
JCost (@jcost)
10th December 2013, 8:01
No way! It is probably the single most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!
@HoHum (@hohum)
9th December 2013, 21:29
@bananarama, great suggestions, especially the last!
@magon4, Motivation!? what ? Kimi should have put of his operation? the Renault engineers shouldn’t have built ROGROs engine after the Xmas party? Where was the motivation missing at Brazil?
Jason (@f1_wi)
9th December 2013, 22:43
Are all of these decisions made in a vacuum? How else can a group of supposedly “intelligent” people come up with so many Band-Aid type fixes? Next thing you know the highest budding fans will get to vote on grid positions and Ferrari will be allowed the use of three red shells per season if trailing the championship by more than 25 points before a given weekend.
DC (@dujedcv)
9th December 2013, 22:46
Not to mention that it is extremely unfair to give double points in the last race of the season. I know that it would create a lot of twist endings to a season, but this is a SPORT (or at least it used to be) not a PC game or a game show. They might as well bring back that Bernie’s sprinklers idea from 2010.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
10th December 2013, 0:47
@philereid – I imagine that the FIA are trying to do what they can to keep the racing interesting, but will lose any attempt to do this ny practical means because the team’s will vehemently and unanimously oppose any cuts to downforce. So they have to come up with the next-best alternative.
BJ (@beejis60)
10th December 2013, 4:42
If they’re gonna do this, at least do it for 1-3 races in a season and have the races selected be randomized. But I feel like it’s just a masked attempt to extort more money for entry fees in the following season.
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
10th December 2013, 6:32
It looks like one day, very soon, we will have it all. DRS, mandatory pit stops, disintegrating tyres, closed canopies, ugly anteater/bekantan noses, sprinklers activated during the race, medal system instead of points (with double amount of medals awarded in the last race) and seven 3-car teams (with a huge financial disparity between them) “duking it out” on twenty tilkedromes.
Luth (@soulofaetherym)
10th December 2013, 16:35
This
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
10th December 2013, 9:56
All I say is “Bernie comeback! I forgive you.” I said it before I say it again those frenchman in the world federations are the biggest problem in sport it’s not doping or betting as bbc sports is saying today.
Alex
3rd November 2014, 8:26
F1 is dead to me its not F1 any more its a boring economy run while drivers preserve their tyres yawn!
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
9th December 2013, 19:09
This is beyond a joke. I could understand for a special race, like Le Mans or the Indy 500, where there are strictly speaking higher demands, but Abu Dhabi? Really? Maybe if the race was twice as long then I would understand… Shambles.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
9th December 2013, 19:28
@craig-o regardless of Abu Dhabi. Why is a GP now worth double than the rest of the calendar?
This is the first time a rule has enraged me so much. This is a complete joke. We don’t need this gimmicks, we seriously don’t need it. We don’t need a rule that states that the last GP of the season is now twice as good as winning any other race.
A bad pitstop now is a lot more of a serious problem in Abu Dhabi. A faulty gearbox, a fault alternator, a random puncture, a marble in the brake duct, everything is just double the problem, and double the reward for the others. The season finale is just like any other Gran Prix, but it happens to be the last one of the season. There shouldn’t be a different points sytem for it.
Besides, in recent history, from 2006 onwards, only 3 times the title was not decided in the very last race. And when it was, it was absolutely epic. If someone seals it midway through the season, tough luck, he deserved it. Why now does he has to be spoiled because his rival happened to win the very last race of the season?!
Why if FIA making such a big bowl of rubbish out of a sport I love so much, but it’s rather quickly being converted into a demonstration of idiotic policies, stupid decisions, lame racing, and boring spectacle?!?!
Why on earth can we just turn on the telly and be amaized with what we see instead of shouting furiously to the screen because what we’re watching is a meaningless waste of 2 hours?!
I’m so done here… I really really hope that they overturn this… Mark Webber must be laughing in sitting in his sofa…
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
10th December 2013, 4:15
@fer-no65
I am gutted too mate . Just when I thought F1 couldn’t get worse . This is so kiddish really . FIA have to be reminded that this is a global sport . I mean .. I am lost for words .and as someone pointed out , the icing on the cake ( the cake is a lie ;-) ) is that the last race is Abu Dhabi .
They are trying to make snooze fests more interesting rather than just let the finale unfold .
1) They take away Brazil as the final race ( the one race which has a very good track record of producing thrillers )
2)They introduce Abu dhabi as the last race .
3) They make this rule .
One can only assume from this logical sequence that this is corporate junk to artificially spruce up the lowest rated race of the year .
Maybe someone in F1f will bring out an article saying this was not the only time such a rule was there and that it was introduced once in the past . Blah blah blah . I am not buying this . This just doesn’t feel right for this age in f1.
Dom (@3dom)
11th December 2013, 13:26
@keithcollantine is there any way we can let the powers that be know our opinion to put pressure in them to overturn this?
marsianwalrus (@einariliyev)
9th December 2013, 19:34
If anything, the Abu Dhabi race should yield half-points.
Patrick (@paeschli)
9th December 2013, 21:26
Best comment yet :)
Aish Heydrich (@aish)
10th December 2013, 6:40
+100
Pelican (@pelican)
9th December 2013, 19:38
Seriously. How much did Abu Dhabi pay for this privilege?
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
10th December 2013, 0:50
@pelican – It’s partially for practical reasons. Abu Dhabi is hosting a post-season test next year. In recent years, teams have struggled with pre-season testing because Spain has been unseasonably cool and/or wet. The teams need warm, stable conditions to get the best results, and the Middle East has exactly that, and so testing is gradually moving to Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
BasCB (@bascb)
9th December 2013, 19:44
maybe because its hard not to fall asleep during it for the drivers as well @craig-o?
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey)
9th December 2013, 19:54
This smacks to me of some kind of publicity stunt. Keeps F1 in the press after the end of a relatively dull season.
Remember Bernie’s medals concept? I think this is similar. Start a controversy – get everyone talking about F1 – change things back before the season starts – ???? – profit.
AlbertC (@albertc)
9th December 2013, 20:06
This is only the SECOND time I read in the swedish press about F1 this year (first time was Vettel clinching the title). So I guess you’re spot on! Publicity stunt big time!
montreal95 (@montreal95)
9th December 2013, 20:19
@magnificent-geoffrey I can only hope you are right. Any other option Is pathetic beyond description
Aditya (@adityafakhri)
9th December 2013, 20:21
it’s different @magnificent-geoffrey. the way medal concept and 2 mandatory pits are just ideas floating around, like some suggestions. this time, it’s the rule already. I hope that (your theory) might have been reality, but I’m afraid not this time.
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey)
9th December 2013, 20:47
@adityafakhri The medals concept was made an official regulation, it was then changed back after criticism.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
9th December 2013, 21:48
@magnificent-geoffrey can only hope you’re right. I’ve never been this angered by FIA’s rules.
Could well be the consecuence of a constant change that only moves the sport backwards, but it’s getting seriously annoying for the fans to suffer this sort of thing… Nowadays watching F1 is irritating instead of being a pleasure…
Hotbottoms (@hotbottoms)
9th December 2013, 22:36
@magnificent-geoffrey
I certainly hope you’re right. I tolerate racing gimmicks such as DRS and Pirelli tyres better than an average F1Fanatic, but I’m very sensitive when it comes to how championships are decided. I hated the medal concept and I hate this idea as much. It must’ve been years since I’ve been this frustrated because of Formula One.
JCost (@jcost)
10th December 2013, 8:04
Do drivers agree with this joke? Why don’t they speak up and stop this thing? I’m missing Mark Webber already!
DaveF1 (@davef1)
9th December 2013, 19:09
Ahahahaha very funny Keith, I nearly fell for it.
Aditya (@adityafakhri)
9th December 2013, 20:17
I hope this is some kind of April Mop or something…….
the guy who writes the rules need a serious check of his head. seriously, it’s beyond logic.
the way rulemakers try to build the regulation this way, just like made of story with lies after lies.
really confused, astonished, and even angry.
it’s a long ago when I fell in love with this ‘sport’, I seriously need to rethink my passion of it. to be honest, I regret buying airfare for Sepang already.
DC (@dujedcv)
9th December 2013, 22:49
Makes you wanna bomb the FIA headquarters
ken (@whatevz)
9th December 2013, 23:04
Hey Keith! What’s your preferred points system? Wanna come up with one and reward the F1-Fanatic Editior’s Chamipion (or championship) at the end of the year? I may give that more credence than the FIA’s.
Of course, probably like most people, I prefer the system used whenever I first started paying attention to F1. Would you like to reward fastest race lap or pole? Just don’t tell me your favourite is NASCAR and try to fit a chase for the cup into your stats. :-D
FormulaLes (@formulales)
10th December 2013, 1:48
I think the fairest point system would be one where the race times from all the races across the season are added up, and the driver with the lowest total number, i.e. the driver who finished all the races in the fastest time wins the championship. It would recognise the difference of winning a race by say 3 seconds, or by winning a race by 50 seconds, which the current point system doesn’t. Kind of like the grand cycling tours – each Grand Prix could be considered a stage.
Ivan (@wpinrui)
10th December 2013, 2:02
What would happen if a driver retires?
Gwan
10th December 2013, 7:55
I wouldn’t like that – where’s the reward for the guy who battles through with amazing racecraft and overtaking vs. just cruising off from pole à la Vettel?
FLIG (@flig)
10th December 2013, 4:12
I think that’s actually a great idea. To have a F1Fanatic’s point system that shows how things would be if the majority of fans had a say in how points are distributed. @keithcollantine, pretty please?
dennis (@dennis)
10th December 2013, 8:51
Yeah… Haha… Ha… Ha… Oh dear…
Who thinks this is wrong???
-> http://i.imgur.com/MHuW96t.gif
roadie
9th December 2013, 19:09
This is ludicrous! Why should one race be more important than another!?
BarnstableD (@barnstabled)
9th December 2013, 20:54
Precisely.
deanmachine (@deanmachine)
9th December 2013, 21:05
I can understand when the Le Mans 24 Hours or the 12 Hours of Sebring have double points over the 6 hour races in endurance championships. But not when a race is identical to the last, except more dull and less overtaking.
ken (@whatevz)
9th December 2013, 22:56
Why not double points a secret race selected by lottery at the end of the year so we don’t know who’s champion till Christmas? More ill thought out knee jerk reactions to the Vettel domination. Why don’t we make Roger Federer use a badminton racket? Michael Jordan should have had heavier shoes. Tiger Woods should only get half length golf clubs!
Diceman (@diceman)
9th December 2013, 19:10
Double points for one of the dullest races in the calendar. Few weeks ago I was so excited for 2014, but now it’s not looking so great anymore :/
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
10th December 2013, 5:52
2014 is going to be a roller coaster ride without a seat belt .
HUHHII (@huhhii)
9th December 2013, 19:11
What a scandal would it be if a driver being constantly faster than anyone else throughout the season had built over 40-point lead to his biggest rivals just to loose the championship to a mechanical failure, because his nearest rival would score undeserved 50 points in the last race.
This must be a joke. Must be.
AlbertC (@albertc)
9th December 2013, 20:16
Alonso would’ve been WDC 2012 after a brilliant drive of Vettel, spinning on first lap. That would’ve been a downer after a great season…
TMF (@)
9th December 2013, 20:19
my thoughts exactly and I hope it happens next year. Only if they see how ludicrous it is, they’ll think it over.
Patrick (@paeschli)
9th December 2013, 21:28
Or they might think it’s a success … does someone have an idea to boycott this or so?
McKenzie (@mckenzie)
10th December 2013, 8:40
@paeschli The only way I can see of boycotting the move is a television boycott: don’t watch the race on television.
Whether that would make a blind bit of difference is a moot point.
TMF (@)
10th December 2013, 9:16
@paeschli – once fans realize that finals like 08, 10 or 12 won’t happen again because of the big point spread there will be enough heat from fans and the media.
bchgrl1478 (@svfan)
9th December 2013, 22:40
What you posted was almost exactly what I said right after reading the article and before I read the comments.
This is totally ludicrous, and I really do hope that they re-think this.
magon4 (@magon4)
9th December 2013, 19:12
I’m ok with F1 rule changes, this has been the rule, not the exception. Some people here didn’t even see the days where some points were simply not counted at the end of the season (Prost would have had 5 WDCs…).
In any case, I would like to see some kind of a Grand Slam of F1, since we are making up rules.
Monaco, Suzuka, Monza and Silverstone worth double points, what about that?
Ha!
AlbertC (@albertc)
9th December 2013, 20:18
Two wrongs don’t make a right…
Vincente
10th December 2013, 3:40
But three rights do make a left?
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
10th December 2013, 4:32
LOL.. but completely irrelevant
njayhya (@njayhya)
20th December 2013, 12:30
LOL
@HoHum (@hohum)
9th December 2013, 21:38
@magon4, the discard rule was to compensate for mechanical failure which as you know was much more prevalent then, so at least it was based on a concept of fairness not ticket sales.
Deutsch
9th December 2013, 22:24
It wasn’t that points weren’t counted, just that they only took the best X number of races during the season (or at times the best X number from each half season).
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
10th December 2013, 8:36
@magon4 I started a forum post very similar a while back!
Valentin Stoian (@wally02avg)
9th December 2013, 19:12
why not have a raffle for the championship after the last round..might at least have the random result in the bag in the last possible moment.
Artificial F1 says Bernie.I say stop this guy!
This is as unfair as it goes.Why should a retirement or a win in the last round be worth more than in the other gps?
are they desperate or mad!?
Valentin Stoian (@wally02avg)
9th December 2013, 19:15
also..i want the head of the f1 fanatic who voted “yes”.Are you Jeremy Clarkson (put sprinklers on randomly) by any case?
@HoHum (@hohum)
9th December 2013, 21:39
BOTH!
The_Pretender (@the_pretender)
9th December 2013, 19:12
This is worse than the chase. It says something when F1 is more artificial than NASCAR. I rally can’t believe that this is serious. It has to be a joke doesn’t it?
The_Pretender (@the_pretender)
9th December 2013, 19:13
*really
Aced (@)
9th December 2013, 19:12
Alright, who the hell is making these decisions?
Red Andy (@red-andy)
9th December 2013, 19:12
What a massive load of crod.
magon4 (@magon4)
9th December 2013, 19:12
Ah and if they switch Interlagos back to being the last race, then I’m ok with double points at the last race… ;)
Kingshark (@kingshark)
10th December 2013, 1:31
@magon4
If they had implemented in two years sooner, then you beloved Vettel would’ve lost the WDC in Brazil 2012. ;-)
magon4 (@magon4)
10th December 2013, 6:01
or he would have tried harder, hehe… again, I don’t like the idea, but I do like rethinking the point system from time to time…
Verstappen GP (@verstappengp)
9th December 2013, 19:13
Am I the only one who thinks this is actually quite a good idea?
I think this is quite a good idea as it can keep more people in contention for the title if it isn’t won before the final race.
This is better then having more points for races like Monaco or Monza.
Jack_Hider (@jackhider)
9th December 2013, 19:24
It unfairly keeps people in contention, I don’t see why this one race is special enough to award double points. Especially as if this gimmick was in place this year it would have ultimately no affect on the championship result.
@HoHum (@hohum)
9th December 2013, 23:17
apparently there are more than 20 of you.
matt90 (@matt90)
9th December 2013, 23:22
Most people don’t want that either.
Verstappen GP (@verstappengp)
10th December 2013, 21:15
I don’t want that.
Perico
10th December 2013, 3:01
Yeah, and resetting all driver’s points back to 0 for the last race would also keep more people involved in the championship discussion, in fact it would include the whole field.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
10th December 2013, 4:43
Yes.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
10th December 2013, 4:44
I meant you are the only one who thinks this is a good idea.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
9th December 2013, 19:14
Firstly, I would like to point out that Formula 1 is my passion and my obsession. I feel I have developed a thorough understanding of the sport following it intensely for the last 16 years and investigating every noteworthy story from pre-war races up to present day. In watching and learning of all these races and championships, I have no favourite. Not in terms of style of success or in terms of regulations. I understand, as many fanatics do, the Formula 1 is an evolving process.
However, the steps taken by the FIA in recent seasons are ruining this sport.
F1 for me was enthralling, exciting and intense even in the processional periods. I accepted then as I do today that the team who is winning is there because their team have come up with the best solution for the regulations and have found a pilot worthy of displaying the cars full potential. The rules to spicen up the show may gain a few extra viewers but at the cost of alienating the true fans who want to see racers race.
I grew very tired of the DRS and tyre rows and did not back either to be a success long term. I fully understand they are not intended to be long term solutions but today the f1 gimmick brigade took a final, unrecoverable step to destroying F1 for the fan and the neutral.
I refer of course to double points. If Sebastian Vettel wins the next ten championships I will congratulate him. I received a COTD on this website in early 2012 to the effect of ‘if Vettel wins under pressure he will be a legend’. He in my mind has nothing left to prove. This rule however, appears to try to belittle his future success by making the last race of the championship a lottery.
Consider Driver 1 with a 49 point lead stalling on the grid in the final race. Driver 2 takes he title by 1 point. Is he a worthy winner? He won when no driver before had the opportunity. That to me is a complete scandal. The same applies to constructors. Let’s say Williams score 5 points over the course of next season at three races. It rains in the season finale and Catherham, who have been the same distance behind Williams as Williams has been to Red Bull finish 9th and 10th in a race of 11 finishers. Catherham by this logic would earn more prize money than a team who score legitimately at three events. That to me is wrong. There are too many hard working engineers and drivers in F1 to have jobs and titles decided on a complete gimmick which benefits no party.
I hope this ridiculous rule is set right before the season commences and to be honest I hope the governing body is changed to people who care about the teams and the die-hard fans more than casual viewer.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
9th December 2013, 19:37
Great comment. Even more than DRS and the tyres this particular rule infuriates me. It’s attacking something fundamental about the sport that I can’t really state eloquently but the essence of which you touched upon well. I think the sport I have loved since I was a child is being eroded and contorted into a caricature of itself, all for the sake of the ‘show’. F1 is losing its soul.
BasCB (@bascb)
9th December 2013, 19:47
I guess any arbitrary system is as stupid as any other @rbalonso, but yeah, it seems that new strategic group of haves (the big spenders club, the big cashers club and the FIA) is really on a run. Now we only need them to install a mandatory MINIMUM budget of say 100-200 million, sign off 3 car customer teams and the sport is saved!
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
9th December 2013, 20:45
@bascb @colossal-squid I think what infuriates me most about this is that when I watched races in the early 2000’s I thought they were great. Even when Schumacher won I thought ‘well look at 1997 etc where he blew everyone away’. I accepted that the rules had to be tighter around testing, costs and what not but at no point did I think DRS, degradable tyres and double points were the solution. I tried to get a few friends into the sport in 2010 and they genuinely loved it, then in 2011 they didn’t like DRS. For 2012 they liked the lottery of the first 3/5 races then decided it was perhaps too much. For this year they completely gave up. I think where the FIA miss out is that fans enjoy close battles not just overtakes. DRS and tyres is an ok principle but in practice is impossible. To coordinate the DRS to work in every circumstance to just aid overtaking was never going to work. Racing people should have known that.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
9th December 2013, 20:52
@balonso Yeah I agree. I’m really missing the days of the late 90’s and early 2000’s more and more. Look at 2008, we had some genuinely classic races and a thrilling Championship without any double points or other gimmickry.
I’m only starting to realise that this is true. Theoretically I like the idea of DRS and tyres but as you state it’s impractical. I was an apologist for DRS, but for the few races where it helped there were three where it hurt. Same with the tyres. A few great races, but mostly driving to delta times and conservative strategies. The time has come for change and double points most certainly isn’t the answer.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
9th December 2013, 20:53
@rbalonso
panache (@panache)
10th December 2013, 4:44
@colossal-squid +1
I was also willing to give DRS and Pirelli tyres the benefit of the doubt until this season unfolded and it became clear that it’s impossible to consistently achieve the desired effect with such gimmickry. Even worse, the FIA have been incompetent with their application of the DRS system and in their dealings with Pirelli as sole tyre supplier.
No learning or positive progress with DRS has taken place despite 3 full seasons using this device. For example it became obvious that DRS was detrimental to the racing at tracks where overtaking is commonplace in the same areas of the track where DRS activation is allowed, yet instead of restricting DRS activation at these locations or even completely at these tracks, the FIA often introduced extended zones and/or extra zones which exacerbated the situation even further.
The FIA’s interaction with Pirelli has been woefully mismanaged and culminated in tyres that were not fit for purpose and were literally jeapordizing the lives of drivers, spectators and marshals. The imperative for Pirelli to test its tyres was continually disregarded and resulted in a fiasco involving unsafe tyres and illegal testing which brought the sport into disrepute and arguably also degraded public perception of Pirelli and Mercedes. The confirmation of Pirelli as supplier for 2014 was also finalized incredibly late. Pirelli began development of next years tyres months before they received confirmation from the FIA late in September.
To make matters worse, when the FIA confirmed Pirelli for 2014 they also announced a new tendering process for a single fuel supplier despite how heavily invested ExxonMobil, Shell, Petronas, PDVSA and Total are in their own F1 projects with different teams.
Now this rule to award double points in the final race of the season. Absolutely farcical! This is a blatant attempt to manipulate the show at the expense of sporting integrity. It’s just one scandal after another and it was the same under Mosley towards the end of his tenure as president of the FIA. I can’t actually believe the top teams (part of the F1 Strategy Group along with Bernie and the FIA) agreed to this. Just think about that for a minute…
ACx
9th December 2013, 20:26
DRS was the nail in the coffin that changed my attitude to F1. Before DRS I took it seriously, now, it’s kinda like light entertainment, X-Factor or something.
DRS just killed driver skill. Making the guy in front sit there like a duck is, IMHO, offensive to the skill of racing. It allows quick but not very good racers to prosper at the expense of racers. Even IndyCar have it better. Their push to pass system lets drivers choose how and when to use it. They have the same, and its up to them to use it to attack or defend. To me, that is even, it is fair. DRS is simply, to sound like a toddler, not fair.
Patrick (@paeschli)
9th December 2013, 21:31
And you deserve another one for this :)
@HoHum (@hohum)
9th December 2013, 22:04
@rbalonso,@collosal-sqid,@bascb, the trouble with this idea is that they just aren’t thinking big enough, to really make it work it needs more sizzle, more often, I suggest that at every race, before the warm-up lap, the winner of the local “got talent” franchise performs their act and then draws ball from a Lotto machine, each ball drawn according to grid position would have a random multiplier from 1 to 10 for points earned that race, that way the championship would always go to the last race and a whole lot of “got talent” fans would tune in to F1. Should FIA/FOM wish to hire me I would feel duty bound to accept.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
9th December 2013, 22:16
@hohum That sounds better than the double points rule. We can have celebrity judges and fan polling to decide things like who gets to “win” Friday Practice! Drivers can perform arbitrary ‘skills’ pre-season before the celebrity judges to determine who gets a drive for the upcoming season! Mandatory advertisement breaks every 5 minutes will help bring funds for the struggling teams like Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. This will all save F1, I have no doubt.
hutch (@hutch)
10th December 2013, 3:46
Actually, I think we need time-outs for the ad breaks so we don’t miss any action. Every 5 laps, everyone comes into the pits for a rest stop and strategy discussion.
Barry Duffy (@bazf1)
9th December 2013, 22:23
Great comment. My only tiny gripe would be that 3 points scoring finishes by a smaller team can still be outdone by one higher points finish from another smaller team, although the double points gimmick would make it much more attainable on the final day of the season. DRS, the tyres and now this have all but destroyed my interest in the sport. So, so sad. Guess we better find another championship to follow next year!
Poul Winther (@poul)
10th December 2013, 13:31
Or you could have the opposite scenario: A team and driver finally beats Seb / Red Bull fair and square – except they happen to have their one mechanical failure at the double-points-race!
In either case; people will be furious and that’s why I cannot shake the feeling that this “idea” was thought out by 5-year olds. It really is nothing short of just terribly dumb as history will forever be filled with raging discussion of who should have been champion, just like it has been since not all points were rewarded.
Like you I am passionate about F1 and have been basically since I was three years old but I must say that FIA are doing their best to lose me in recent years:
– DRS
– Artificial tire wear
– Forced pit stops
– Lottery points system
– What’s next? Teams switch cars during qualifying? Points for best helmet design?
Every day it seems to become increasingly harder to take this “sport” seriously.
magon4 (@magon4)
9th December 2013, 19:14
@the_pretender F1 has a history of being artificial in its rules. It has no history whatsoever of concistency and tradition in that respect. It’s just that the idea could be better…
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
10th December 2013, 4:36
@magon4 Humanity has a history of war . That doesn’t mean we should be okay with waging one now.