The FIA has surprisingly announced it will introduce a variant of the medals system proposed by Bernie Ecclestone in 2009.
This comes despite the F1 teams association recommending a change to the points system which it claimed had the support of fans.
However the FIA will retain points to decide the other championship positions.
Many F1 fans on this website have voiced their disapproval of the medals system in the past. I still think the medals system has merit and have said so for some time, so I have somewhat mixed feelings about this outcome.
An FIA statement said:
The WMSC accepted the proposal from Formula One Management to award the drivers’ championship to the driver who has won the most races during the season. If two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points, the allocation of points being based on the current 10, 8, 6 etc. system.
The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will be decided by the current points system. There is no provision to award medals for first, second or third place. The Constructors’ Championship is unaffected.
The WMSC rejected the alternative proposal from the Formula One Teams’ Association to change the points awarded to drivers finishing in first, second and third place to 12, 9 and 7 points respectively.
Here are the World Motor Sports Council’s decisions in full.
More on the F1 rules changes
- Budget caps for F1 in 2010
- Qualifying fuel strategies to be revealed
- Which new rules will improve F1? (Poll)
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Ronan
17th March 2009, 13:48
This is a joke, right?
K
17th March 2009, 18:17
Sadly not.
Kovy
18th March 2009, 0:12
I’m torn between supporting this, and not supporting.
It will definitely make drivers in the top three positions race more aggressively for the lead, but if one of those top drivers ends up in the mid field (perhaps because of a tyre puncture), they won’t race as hard, as a point or two will make little difference to their title challenge.
It’s good to have points still remaining, though, as it provides a little continuity with past seasons (mainly for the record books.)
In the end, I think I would prefer the point system Keith pointed out, with 15 for a win, 10 for a second, etc.
Katie
21st March 2009, 0:05
New medals system where championship winner is driver with most race wins is not being implemented this year after all. WHOOPEE
Motorsport’s world governing body FIA made the climbdown late on Friday in face of opposition from leading drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) who said it would challenge the decision.
“If, for any reason, the Formula One teams do not now agree with the new system, its implementation will be deferred until 2010,” FIA said in a statement, effectively bowing to the demands.
So all we need to hope for is that the powers that be see sense b4 next year.
GQsm
17th March 2009, 13:50
FFS
What a farce. The sooner Bernie and Max are gone the better for F1, FOTA should be running the show.
SYM
17th March 2009, 14:47
Bernie is loosing his grip on reality. His persuit of TV ratings is turning this sport into a farce:
“F1 is a happening, a show. If you want racing go to the horses”
Bernie Ecclestone
Amy
17th March 2009, 13:51
I hope they’re not starting the year as the plan to continue – with the majority of fans HATING THEIR DECISIONS!
MattJ
17th March 2009, 13:52
You’ve gotta be kidding me!!?
FIA to FOTA and Fans: UP YOURS!!
This is gonna be a mess
RichP
17th March 2009, 13:52
Have just seen this on BBC News. Can’t believe it. Ridiculous.
Keirde
17th March 2009, 13:53
That pretty much wipes away the excitement I had for the 2009 season. What an absolute joke.
Katie
18th March 2009, 12:29
The new rule to award championship to the driver with most wins is ridiculous. The current point system was perfect, when will these people realise if it aint broke dont fix it. Where does this new rule leave the smaller teams with not much hope of wins, on the points system they still had a chance if they could consistently pick up points. I Can assure you that when it becomes clear half way through the championship that one driver cant be beaten, viewing will drop drasticly and interest in F1 overall is gonna drop. We are gonna lose the nail biting finishes over the last few races. These rules will encourage TEAM ORDERS and will also reward aggresive and unsafe overtaking tactics. Absolutely ridiculous. About time F1 got rid of the FIA and there idiotic, self motivated rule changes. its time to show them the F1 supporters opinion matters. After 25years I am considering giving up on F1 altogether.
BaKano
17th March 2009, 13:53
Unbelievable!
maff
17th March 2009, 13:53
But they are also keeping the points to fall back on in case two people have the same number of wins, rather than awarding and adding up silver medals etc… so at the end of the championship you could well have the driver with the most points not winning. If they were going to swap, they should have swapped completley.. not this confusing mish mash.
Katie
18th March 2009, 23:30
Just had a look at the new regulations on the FIA website and they state that the championship winner will be driver with most wins, If two or more drivers have the same wins then it will be decided on a points system. So what if the driver with the most points is not one of the drivers with the most wins does this mean that technically he could claim the championship as his. This could be a possible legal technicality unless the full regulations go on to explain it in detail this could end in a court battle. It has become normal for races to be decided in this manner. About time FIA got a grip and realise that for us the fans F1 is about racing. Lets get on with it
Hugo Bourgeois
17th March 2009, 13:53
See, you shouldn’t do important decisions on St-Patrick’s day… they MUST have been drunk. Who actually thinks this is sensible? ARGH!!
Pete Walker
17th March 2009, 13:54
Its not quite the medals system – second place downwards in the championship is decided by points as it is now.
For a minute there it looked like the voice of the fans was actually being listened to. What a complete waste of time these surveys are if the proposals they lead to (by the teams) are rejected outright.
What a mess.
GQsm
17th March 2009, 13:56
hmm the autosport article says it is not based on a medal system but purely wins.
The current points system is still in place for the constructors championship and should 2 or more drivers have a equal number of wins then it will go on the drivers points tally.
SamS
17th March 2009, 13:56
bunch of Jokers
PJA
17th March 2009, 13:56
Do the FIA go out of their way to annoy fans of F1 or is it just a coincidence?
Part of me believes Max and Bernie would introduce a medals system just because FOTA preferred a change to the points system, to remind them who really has the power.
I am not looking forward to season as much as I was this morning that’s for sure.
Gman
17th March 2009, 18:33
Same here- it’s going to change the dynamics of following the sport. The new deal may create a few more battles for first place, but the quality of the season overall will be diminished in my opinion.
Joe
17th March 2009, 13:57
Do the idiots who run F1 actually realise that this is the exact opposite of what the people want to happen, I am absolutely furious – one of the worst decisions ever made.
Ronan
17th March 2009, 13:58
It’s NOT a medals system! It’s something much worse!
“If two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points, the allocation of points being based on the current 10, 8, 6 etc. system.”
“The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will be decided by the current points system.”
So what’s the point of giving out silver and bronze medals if points determine a tie???
Basicly there’ll be two championship tables, one for medals, one for points and the championship order will more or less depend on a combining of the two.
No danger of F1 being dumbed down here! They’ve just pointlessly complicated things.
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 14:28
I think they are just giving out 1 medal – that for coming first, no silver or bronze.
Ronan
17th March 2009, 14:34
Yeah, as it turns out it’s not really a medals system.
Rob R.
17th March 2009, 14:02
Wow. I was thinking for a minute there, they would actually do the sensible thing, and introduce the 12- points system…
*bangs head on wall*
KAB
17th March 2009, 14:03
It’s a good idea on paper, but in practice it is absolutely horrible. We’ve had close championships for the past few years…
2003, 2006, 2007, 2008. All these championships have gone down to the wire, and in 3 of them the champion only won by 1 or 2 points!! I wouldn’t mind the 12 – 9 – 7 etc system but this is jsut terrible
GQsm
17th March 2009, 14:04
Ronan – no it is not a medals, there are no medals.
And then I’ve just read about the £30m budget cap. Optional but with development perks for those teams that sign up. Not sure if that will work in practice. Seems to be too many ways round a budget cap to me.
Ronan
17th March 2009, 14:07
Ah I see that now! Autosport had the headline ‘Medals to be introduced’ which has now changed to ‘Wins to decided world championship in 2009’. So I wasn’t the only one to over react! :-)
F1Yankee
17th March 2009, 14:05
pathetic
ceedas
17th March 2009, 14:05
Not to mention budget caps and apparently a set of tech regs which allow lots more freedom. Messy. I’m surprised that I’m surprised.
Kris
17th March 2009, 14:06
So we could see a situation where the driver with the most points *doesn’t* win the championship?
How stupid is that?!
Ronan
17th March 2009, 14:06
Looks, like they got some things right: “The FIA will publish the weights of all cars after qualifying at each Event.” They should have done away with race fuel qualifying but this a big step in the right direction as far as I’m concerned.
ntski
7th June 2009, 15:57
biatch
Hugo Bourgeois
17th March 2009, 14:06
Explanation of Max Mosley on Autosport.com shows nothing short of a blatant rigging of the sport. No more, no less. If the FIA is allowed to do this, they shouldn’t have fined McLaren for rigging it either!
ajokay
17th March 2009, 14:06
OK, so… they’re going to do this, and they won’t back down, so lets see the positive in this.
If it works, we should see about 10 cars battling for the lead in each race. Can’t argue with that.
Ronan
17th March 2009, 14:09
Yes, on the bright side could you imagine races like Belgium 2008 with the new rules? There’d be so much more at stake.
Pete Walker
17th March 2009, 14:14
“If it works, we should see about 10 cars battling for the lead in each race. Can’t argue with that.”
No offence but thats totally flawed logic. It assumes that a) the performance of the top five or so teams will be equal and b) the drivers previously weren’t trying for a win.
We should be careful not to over-react, because at the end of this season, the driver with the most points is likely to have won the most races anyway, but it doesn’t seem right to make such a fundamental change like this after 59 seasons of a points-based champions and after the fans clearly voted against it.
Rob R.
17th March 2009, 14:19
Ronan, that race was already incredibly entertaining under the old rules. There’s no need to throw the traditions of F1 in the bin just like that, and exchange it for mindless gimmickry.
Ronan
17th March 2009, 14:20
I agree. I’m just trying to be positive!
ajokay
17th March 2009, 14:22
Ok, fair enough it may be flawed logic, but can’t we at least hope that that’s what will come of this?
Hugo Bourgeois
17th March 2009, 14:08
Moreover, we wanted to see more DRIVER profiling in F1, not more FIA profiling!
Leon
17th March 2009, 14:08
What staggering arrogance ! Ecclestone clearly held some sort of RPG to Mosley’s head. It has to have been a blackmail job ! Ecclestone is determined to reduce a serious, intelligently run sport to the equivalent of trip to the travelling circus on a wet weekend in November or a friday night bingo session on Blackpool Golden Mile. With about that sort of level of brilliance and expertise….ie ZERO !
Formula One Teams Association.. ?? Serious Fans….??
Utterly irrelevant as far as Ecclestone and Mosley are concerned.
mattclinch
17th March 2009, 14:10
this is diabolical.
what about this £30m budget cap option to? If you promise to use a budget of under £30m you get a more aerodynamically efficient (but standard) underbody; movable wings; an engine which is not subject to a rev limit or a development freeze
Ronan
17th March 2009, 14:14
So there’ll be two types of car? Expensive ones with custome floors, fixed wings and frozen engines and cheap ones with standard (but better) floors, moveable wings and developed engines? Am I understanding this right?!
mattclinch
17th March 2009, 14:19
that’s what it sounds like… i guess to persuade teams to run with cheaper costs. £30m is up to 90% cheaper. sooo.. it’s GP2 then?
mattclinch
17th March 2009, 14:24
The FIA has the right to adjust elements of these freedoms to ensure that the cost-capped cars have neither an advantage nor a disadvantage when compared to cars running to the existing rules.
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 14:31
Hmmm, a two tier F1!! They might as well just have a Manufacturers Championship and a Privatiers Championship!
That line about the FIA having the right to adjust the equivolency is massively vague and open for coruption.
Ronan
17th March 2009, 14:32
This could get hopelessly contraversial and complex as the FIA seeks to find an update to the happy medium every year. In my opinion this is a much bigger story than the points thing.
We could effectivly have two types of F1 car, how stupid is that?
What was the point in changing the rules to encourage overtaking if a section of the grid are non-compliant to them next year?
Could this not just result in a situation where the type of car more suited a particular citcuit drives off into the sunset?
It could end up being (OK, not as big a difference as but) somewhat like GT1 and GT2 in sportscar racing.
JWRPayne
17th March 2009, 14:10
Methinks they’re trying to put all the eggs in one basket. Too much at once.
Really would be a better idea to just see how this years pans out, and then take the next step.
Its turning into one of those ‘Glory or The End of’ years.
Robert McKay
17th March 2009, 14:10
I’m with everyone else.
I don’t know how they do it, I really don’t. This system makes the medals proposal look, well, palatable.
Idiots.
TommyB
17th March 2009, 14:10
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! :-D
Hounslow
17th March 2009, 14:11
So if driver A wins three races, but doesn’t even finish in the other races at all (points = 30), he wins the Championship against driver B with only two wins, but 14 second places (points = 132)?
More realistically, it’s going to be a driver with say, four wins and not much else winning the WDC against a driver with three wins and loads of seconds and thirds in the season (45 points beating 110, perhaps).
Overall, it’s stupid.
Why am I not surprised?
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 14:33
Perhaps using this logic then, Mclaren have a chance in this year Championship if they only need to luck in to a couple of wins!
Jay Menon
18th March 2009, 4:36
This is exactly the same as I thought. Maybe they should have gone back to the 1988 season style, where only the 11 best results count..or something like that?
SonyJunkie
17th March 2009, 14:11
/facepalm/
Jesper
17th March 2009, 14:12
Stupid!
*lost for words*
TommyB
17th March 2009, 14:12
Finally winning means something! Should hopefully see more people going for the win like Lewis/Alonso rather then settling for 2nd or 3rd. Wow, I guess its just a medal system, hope they still get trophies
Toby
17th March 2009, 23:15
Or 5th!
gaz
17th March 2009, 14:12
we have just seen what could have been the most open fought WC for years gone up in smoke.
bmw/renault/teamB must be gutted Ferrari on the other hand laughing..
Martin Bell
17th March 2009, 14:13
Oh dear, that’s the sound of a large amount of knickers collectively getting in a twist. Yes, it sounds crap, but we’ll get used to it. However, can’t help but agree with PJA, this seems to be more about the tedious power struggle between FOTA, FOM, FIA, etc. etc. etc. I am sooooooooo bored with the constant machinations of all this, all the sabre rattling these old men seem to have to do just to make themselves feel important. Never mind the budget cap, give us a length of service cap! (I’ve just looked up the word “bernieecclestone” in the dictionary, and the definition is “something which has far outlived it’s usefulness”) Can we file for divorce from him?
Spud
17th March 2009, 14:14
Very silly!!!! :P
keepF1technical
17th March 2009, 14:16
Keith, I think you have somewhat complicated this debate by saying they have implemented the medals system. They have not.
It is exactly the same as the last few years. The ONLY difference which COULD exist is the name at the top of the list being changed (potentially) to the driver with more wins but who is less reliable.
Lets not pretend this is more complicated, it really isn’t.
Clearly it is a snap decision and a bit half-measured (and unnecessary) by the FIA but isnt it actually in keeping with the fans desire?
Also, a point (no pun intended) not raised before is the fact that if the points system were to keep changing year to year it is impossible to compare total points tallies from over the decades. Yes there have been subtle changes to scores, but to go from 10 to 15 points for a win would totally sway the totals beyond any possible comparison.
and it might actually help Button this year… if he has a couple of inevitable reliability issues but wins hands down when the cars running…. I’m hoping.
Toby
17th March 2009, 23:35
Dead right. This isn’t medals, and it’s not complicating things. For me, it removes the thing I didn’t like about the medals system – that someone could luck into a podium (or even a win) and get an unrealistic position in the driver’s championship. I doubt that it’ll cause any issues, as long as the stewards don’t get penalty-happy, and I’m prepared to believe that this is not “1984”.
I personally think this is a more valuable system, because it rewards consistent winning, not finishing. There’s a line from an old satirical Australian comedy show that springs to mind – “Go out there and come third like a REAL Australian!”
Ben
17th March 2009, 14:16
I think this just wipes away all hope for consistent race finishers. Look at Heidfeld and Kubica last season, they were the most consistent drivers in the field with Kubica even being in with a shot at the championship. Yet he only won one race.
The championship should be awarded to the most consistent and talented driver, wether it be the most wins or the most consistently on the podium. The points system made this possible however the Medals system just walks all over it!
Matt Somers
17th March 2009, 14:18
Drivers are the ones that lose out as the teams don’t care so much if their driver comes 1st or 2nd just that they can accru the most points over the season via 2 drivers to win the Constructor’s championship….
gaz
17th March 2009, 14:18
but it’s not a bad thing really…..kind off looking forward to it
Martin Bell
17th March 2009, 14:18
For all you Hamilton fans out there (of which I am not one), perhaps under this system he would have fought for the win in Brazil, rather than become WDC by driving a scrappy race to fifth? Isn’t that what we all want to see?
mondo
17th March 2009, 14:27
I am a Lewis fan. But I really agree with you there. No more if this sitting back and having a chilled GP cos you know you have points in the bag.
It’s something I really don’t wanna see. I wanna see all drives driving as fast they can 100% of the time.
Sush Meerkat
17th March 2009, 14:31
call it a scrappy race if you will, but becoming champion on the last lap of the last race was edge of the seat stuff.
mondo
17th March 2009, 14:45
That’s very true. I even missed him crossing the line cos I thought Massa has won the title.
But if rules were in place like the ones being spoken about here, would it have really came down to that?
Adam
18th March 2009, 0:43
“perhaps under this system he would have fought for the win in Brazil”
If Lewis or any other driver gets to the point of the season when there is not enough races left for 2nd place driver to win all the GPs then they could do excactly the same for a potentially the last 8 GPs. Just trundle round any finish anywhere.
Kieth i dont think ive seen a reaction on Fanatic like this before. Id love to hear what you think…?
Adam
18th March 2009, 0:47
Ahhhh! stupidly i clicked “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail” Schoolboy error!!
Mussolini's Pet Cat
18th March 2009, 9:38
Are you saying the Brazil 08 wasnt the most thrilling end to a season ever??????????
skova265
17th March 2009, 14:20
You emagine that massa gets a gift again from FIA. Sorry 2 gifts
Matt Somers
17th March 2009, 14:21
So 4 race wins and 13 DNFS could give us a worthy champion for arguments sake? what a joke.
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 14:45
Not really, what if someone has 5 race wins and 12 points finishes they would win. You can argue it either way Matt. That’s an extreme reaction.
Take the current points system, someone can finish 3rd in every race, never try to win a race, and then end up winning the championship on 102pts. Where as another driver has worked hard and won 10 races is a runner up – Is that promoting attaking races?
Mouse_Nightshirt
17th March 2009, 16:04
Scott, what do you mean “never try”? Do you honestly think that drivers make a habit of “not trying” to win races?
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 16:07
Mouse_Nightshirt – Lewis didn’t try and win in Brazil, or Singapour did he? He knew the numbers were on his side.
The point I am making is it makes them more comfortable to play percentages and win a defensive championship rather than an always having an attacking one.
I was not implying that they don’t try.
Mouse_Nightshirt
17th March 2009, 16:18
There’s more to F1 than just the first two. Your point works both ways as well. Realistically, this system could lock out the championship much, much, much earlier. So then if, say, Felipe manages to win 10 races by race 14 or 15, what’s he doing to do for the rest of the season, he might as well not even race?
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 16:38
Mouse_Nightshirt – If massa wins the first 10 races of the season – he will probably go on to win the other races because in which case he has such a car advantage that he is unstoppable. Your points system would only serve to undermine this performance advantage and artifically create a championship battle where in reality there isn’t one.
mondo
17th March 2009, 14:24
Well. Whoever gets 1st most wins the season. Sounds fair to me. No more hanging back in 2nd place to take safe points. There will always be a fight for 1st. I think it will award the risk takers.
Could work out, could fail. I’m sure we’ll see the back of it in 2010 if it’s pants. I’m looking forward to the changes.
*bring on the hate comments*
d3cpo
17th March 2009, 14:24
This is just ridiculous..
Driver A consistantly is on the podium but only wins 4 races throughout the year.
Driver B has a few DNF and placed 4 or lower in a few races but wins 5 races though out the season
Am I to believe that Driver B is more worthy of the driver championship. I care to disagree in this case. The WDC should be awarded to the most consistant preformer for the entire season.. hence the most points.. what a joke
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 14:52
I think to make simplified retrospecitve examples like this doesn’t prove much at the moment, I have given a example above on Matt Somers example how we can simplify the argument against the current points system promoting drivers to be risk adverse and just cruse round hoping other people retire.
Rob
17th March 2009, 14:27
It makes the championship easier to fix :)
d3cpo
17th March 2009, 14:27
Even worse..
What if the second place driver has more points but not enough wins. What would that say about this flawed medal system
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 14:52
I would say he sound have gone the the win a few more times :)
Chris
17th March 2009, 14:28
With reference to the ‘budget cars’ –
“The FIA has the right to adjust elements of these freedoms to ensure that the cost-capped cars have neither an advantage nor a disadvantage when compared to cars running to the existing rules.”
Is this similar to the approach taken with the WTCC? where the weights / specs will be constantly changed because of ‘unfair advantages’. I hope not…
aa
18th March 2009, 8:27
About the advantage nor disadvantage… this is the exact kind of crap I have to deal at work as engineer ^^ The boss cames in and says we’ll do a software which automatically does this or does that and will be smart enough to keep the problems under control.
Great words but absolutely futile if there’s no predefined plan to deal with the problems which will appear.
The problem with the new score system is not that after 10 wins may be over, the problem is that after 5 or 6 wins it may be over too (we’d have to have a look at every WC winner’s wins)
Gav
17th March 2009, 14:29
This is a load of rubbish
So lets say one driver wins 5 races but retires from every other race due to an over tuned car or something. And another driver wins 4 races and finishes second in all other races.
Driver no2 will not win the championship?
Rubbish and an absolute joke
Stoo
17th March 2009, 23:24
Abso-*****-loutely… this is a farse… I was so looking forward to this season, BBC coverage, Brawn GP doing so well in testing, etc etc… and Bernie <3 Max clan simply stuff it up... and can you see why? Maclaren are testing the new set up badly, will take them a while to get the wrinkles ironed out - by which time, they won't be able to win the chamionship... Why doesn't FOM and FIA just ban Ron's team???
Oh, and I'm not a Maclaren fan... just damn obvious how much they're hated by the management...
/sigh
ntski
7th June 2009, 16:00
ya right
negro
Sush Meerkat
17th March 2009, 14:29
GREAT! /sarcasm
I now get to explain to all my friends what the different scoring system means.
“but Sush, Heidfield had more points than Massa”
“but Massa has more golds!”
“so Phelps should win the drivers championship?”
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 15:10
:) – Who is Phelps racing for? Team Speedo?
Robert McKay
17th March 2009, 14:30
It’s not a case of “bring on the hate comments”. It’s a case of bring on the rational comments like d3cpo’s cirectly beneath yours that shows why “most wins” doesn’t make sense to most people and is simply too simplistic.
Katie
18th March 2009, 23:26
Just got one question, Just had a look at the new regulations and they state that championship winner will be driver with most wins, If two or more drivers have the same wins then it will be decided on a points system. So what if the driver with the most points is not one of the drivers with the most wins does this mean that technically he could claim the championship as his. This could be a possible legal technicality unless the full regulations go on to explain it in detail this could end in a court battle. After all it has become normal for races to be decided in this manner. About time FIA got a grip and realise that for us the fans F1 is about racing. Lets get on with it
Christian
17th March 2009, 14:33
Am I the only one here who likes these new regulations?
Of course, a driver with 4 wins and 13 DNFs could win the championship against a driver with 3 wins and 14 second places. But how likely is that? There are really not that many championships that would be changed.
Until last season it was possible that a driver with 17 second places wins over a driver with 13 wins and 4 DNFs…that would have been much worse (In fact, in 2003 Kimi almost won the championship with one victory compared to Schumacher’s 6!!!)
About the budget-cap cars: One of the best ideas for the last few years: F1 is turning away from the spec series that it was getting closer and closer to…There’ll finally be some engineering freedom again.
d3cpo
17th March 2009, 14:41
Christian,
I can see where you are coming from with you explanation.. My concern is that this Medal system contradicts the principle idea of the WDC.
Look at it this was. The WCC is based on the top preforming team of the season.. based on points. If your team’s car’s consistantly perfoms better than your rivals you are awarded the WCC.
This same idea should be reflected of the WDC.. unfortuately with this rule change it isnt the case. I would be happy with the idea of a consolation prize for the driver with the most wins but I honestly dont think that wins alone should promote a driver to World Champion.. Consistance should
Dan
17th March 2009, 14:54
Yes, but FIA retain the right to adjust the elements of the freedom. So say BMW go the budget capped route, design an amazingly fast engine…. FIA will just change their rules to ban it because it creates an unlevel playing field. And then BMW have wasted a large amount of their small budget making their amazing engine and therefore have no money to look down new avenues.
Atleast with the uncapped budget FIA are NOT allowed to change the rules mid-season because you gain an advantage. They can only ban illegal designs, so stick within the rules and do what Toyota/Williams/Brawn did, design a legal diffuser or what have you that gives an advantage and your sorted. Whereas with a budget capped team your constantly on a see-saw, FIA are at will to say what you can and can’t do and you (with your small, limited budget and shrunken team) have to comply straight away.
Uncapped but sensible budgets… the way forward.
Nayanesh
17th March 2009, 14:34
This is ridiculous!!
theRoswellite
17th March 2009, 14:35
????????????????? Autosport claims no medals????????????????
Gosh, for a second there I thought FOTA might bring a little reason into the policy making arena.
This is good actually, it just returns us all to the reality of the FIA being……………REALLY………….the guy (singular) in control. I can’t imagine how the gentlemen at FOTA must feel. Do they laugh or cry.
I hope the general public appreciates the fact that the FIA has chosen to change the point system for WC after two years in which the championship came down to the last race, and even the last corner! I guess it wasn’t dramatic enough?
I can’t help seeing Bernie Mosley’s (the two headed monster) hand in this. I don’t think he had an answer for the folks and fans at Ferrari who felt “cheated”. I certainly felt for Felipe, but I didn’t feel he was cheated in any way.
It will certainly be ironic if the ’09 WC is decided with perhaps as many as three races to go, Button as champion, but Massa ends up with more points. Let the wailing begin.
Dave Spurr
17th March 2009, 14:35
I can’t believe this… we had what was building up to be one truly exciting season, probably more exciting than years and now they go and ruin it… why?
Now all a team like Brawn has to do is plough all their effort into the first half of the season, if they can keep their advantage and one of their drivers winning then by half way through the season it’ll all be over, then they can cut right back and concentrate on doing the same in 2010. This really didn’t seem on the table anymore with everyone except from Bernie pretty much ruled it out as stupid? There is still just under 2 weeks for them to see sense before the season starts though.
Ton
17th March 2009, 14:36
I have two words, “Mickie Mouse”
Couse that is the feeling what i get from this decision….
so mayby this year the driver who has the most points is not the worldchampion i guess that man will be very unhappy (who ever it will be)
but for me the driver with the most points is the real champion (even if it’s not my favorit)
Chalky
17th March 2009, 14:38
Hmmm. Initially I thought this was daft.
However, look at it from a different perspective.
You still have the same points. Therefore most teams will stick to the same race strategy as before. Getting points for Force India is priority for example.
However, if the possibility of a win comes into play in the GP, the reward for going for the win will be greater for the driver.
Get a win and you’ll move up the drivers table.
This encourages top \ midfield teams to risk more in the GP if they feel they can win the race.
Either way, we’re stuck with the system so we might as well go with it. As long as we stop the “Massa would have been WDC last year if we used this system”. You drive each season related to each points scoring system.
Scott Joslin
17th March 2009, 14:58
Horah – someone with a calm perspective on things!
IDR
17th March 2009, 14:38
Sorry Keith but this is not Medal system.
The keep the same scoring system with the exception for the winner.
Wins the championship the driver with more race’s wins.
I would say that will be an incentive for not finishing 2nd or 3rd doing maths instead of racing.
Sasquatsch
17th March 2009, 14:41
I absolutely don’t like this system because consistency is not a major factor anymore.
Theoratically a team who uses 8 engines in a sort of qualifying mode can win 8 races and get penalties for every other race because he is already a champion.
Why fix a system that isn’t broken. Only because the FIA was not happy with Hamilton being champion while Massa won the most races. If the FIA was consistent in its ruling (in Valencia) Hamilton would have won the most races and be champion.
Nayanesh
17th March 2009, 14:42
When will FIA start thinking about the fans…
No more close championship this year
diseased rat
17th March 2009, 14:42
Yes Massa would have won last year under this system, but at what cost? It would have turned on one terrible stewards decision at Spa. If a driver loses out on a needed win due to bad stewarding then we will all be appauled.
paulsnoop
17th March 2009, 14:46
So we could see the next wdc crowned after the german gp?
lenny
17th March 2009, 14:47
This is the most stupid idea i have heard and that FOTA survey seems to have been done for no reason at all. Remember the shortening of races idea? I’d like to think what the drivers have to say though.
Clare msj
17th March 2009, 14:48
Oh my goodness where has this come from! I thought this idea had been abandoned ages ago! The 12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1 idea was spot on and i thought that was the idea they were taking to this meeting????
It is going to be a complete disaster, it is giong to over compli