Throughout history, the Formula 1 modified the scoring system a few times for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ world championships. The current scheme was set up in 2010 and rewards the ten best in the classifier of each grand prix.. In 2019, just like between 1950 and 1959, whoever recorded the lap record in the race and blends into the top ten at the end of the day benefits with an extra point. But there was also a reward for the best eight, between 2003 and 2009; the bonus was for six between 1960 and 2002 and only five in the first decade of the Great Circusfrom 1950 to 1959.
A new debate will be proposed by F.1, together with the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the ten Manufacturerswith the challenge of defining tweaks for the next season: the intention is extend the prize up to twelfth position in the classifier, trying a rectification in the distribution of points. The measure will require the approval of half of the teams to come into effect in 2025.
The new system will not alter the points harvest of the seven best classified: the winner will receive 25 units; the second, 18; the third, 15; the fourth, 12; the fifth, 10; the sixth, 8 and the seventh, six. The variations will arise from the eighth place, which would stop harvesting four points to bag five; From ninth to twelfth, the scale will decrease by one point per position. The analysis shows that, currently, the ten scoring places are practically co-opted by five teams: Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martinso the rest of the grid participates with little chance of adding to the Constructors’ World Cup, whose positions determine the distribution of the financial prizes at the end of the season, and also establish the hours of use of the wind tunnel, whose use It is limited and the percentages are reviewed each semester.
The reorganization of the points will not affect the leading teams from a competitive perspective and will not increase the registration fee for points that must be paid to the FIA each year. The teams would not disagree, according to the specialized site motorsport.com, which had contact with some of the heads of the structures during the recent Chinese Grand Prix that had Max Verstappen as the winner. “I’m not against. Before coming to Ferrari I worked at Alfa Romeo and I perfectly understand the frustration of retracing a great weekend, but also knowing that if there is no retirement you will finish eleventh in the qualifying table and the reward is zero. Now, finishing P11 or P20 is the same,” he commented. Fred Vasseurthe leader of the Scuderia.
The house of Maranello and Red Bull Racing are the two teams that, if the system were approved and in force, would not see changes in their points. In Milton Keynes, Christian Horner, who has been at the helm of Red Bull Racing since the team entered F.1 in 2005, was impartial: “It seems like there are two groups and the fight is so tough between the two. who battle between positions six and ten like those who do so between the top five. I think we have to do numbers, analyze them and ask ourselves what we would change,” stipulated the Briton.
For Aston Martin, the change would mean six more points at present; for McLaren and Mercedes, the plus would be five units. The most significant variation would be represented by Haas, which instead of five points would have 17 in the Constructors’ world championship and would climb to sixth place, surpassing RB. The Faenza-based squad, which is a satellite structure of Red Bull Racing, would increase its harvest from seven to ten points, although it would fall from sixth to seventh place.
The three teams that did not join in 2024 – Williams, Alpine and Sauber – would not have a zero score If the modification is approved: Grove’s team would have five points from Alexander Albon (11th in Saudi Arabia and Australia and 12th in China); The French, members of the Renault Group, would enjoy two units, as a result of Esteban Ocon’s 11th position on Sunday in Shanghai, while the Chinese Guanyu Zhou, who was honored by his country’s fans in the recent grand prix, would bill the two points from Sauber, after finishing 11th in the calendar opener in Bahrain.
“The bottom five teams are big organizations and it is very difficult to explain to the outside world, to our partners and to the fans, that we are fighting for a P11 that does not actually deliver points.“, I comment Laurent Mekiesthe French engineer who had a stint at Ferrari and joined RB to replace Franz Tost.
“The level of competitiveness and reliability of the cars means that most of the calendar we fight, in theory, for zero points. And it would be advantageous to reward up to 12th place, because it would prevent, if something extraordinary, completely astonishing, happens in a race, such as a driver from the bottom finishing fourth or fifth, it would cause that single result not to determine the final positions of the race. the teams,” Mekies said, according to motorsport.com.
Also from Haas They were excited about making the change and expressed it this way. Hey Komatsuthe Japanese engineer who took over from the charismatic Guenther Steiner in 2024. “It would be a motivation for those of us who work in the mid-pack teams to reward those who finish in eleventh and twelfth positions with points.“, noted the Asian.
The 2024 F.1 calendar has just entered its fifth episode, but the Great Circus is already projecting the future and a tweak to the prize system in the classifier is among the variables.