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[HamFan]

Hey guys and girls.

I've been an F1 fan since 1998, I've just joined the forum and wanted to make my first post on the topic of the new points system. I realise it's been in place for over a year now, but on reflection of the past season and a half of F1 do we think it was a good idea to change it?

Last season for me was one of the best seasons in F1 I've ever witnessed. Such a close battle for the No.1 spot, which I feel was enhanced by the new points system. It brought more drivers into the fight and the gap between 1st and 2nd gave a bigger incentive for the win. In a season like that, it's great. However in a season such as this years, or even looking back to seasons such as 2009, where there is and was one driver dominating the title race, is the new point system really working.

Here's the comparison of the 2011 season top 10 (as of 01/06) in old and new money, with the difference from the leader (Top 5 only).

OLD POINTS ========== NEW POINTS

VETTEL 58 ========== 143
HAMILTON 38(-20) ========== 85(-58)
WEBBER 33(-25) ========== 79(-64)
BUTTON 31(-27) ========== 76(-67)
ALONSO 28(-30) ========== 69(-74)
HEIDFELD 10 ========== 29
ROSBERG 10 ========== 26
MASSA 9 ========== 24
PETROV 7 ========== 21
KOBAYASHI 6 ========== 19

I guess the first point to note is that the table stays exactly the same in terms of position, but look at the point differences.
With the old system, 2nd place Hamilton is only 2 wins off equalling Vettel. Where as with the new system, it's two wins and a 6th place with no points scored by Vettel.

I know it's all relative really but for my money the old system just makes the whole thing seem a lot more possible for someone to topple Vettel, and thus a lot more exciting.

However as a counter point, it does seem a shame that in a field of 24 drivers there aren't more point chances available.
What I would maybe like to see in the next few years is maybe a further tweak to the points system. For example something on the lines of:

15,12,10,8,6,5,4,3,2,1

If this system was implemented the table for 2011, would look like this:

VETTEL 87
HAMILTON 56(-31)
WEBBER 52(-35)
BUTTON 50(-37)
ALONSO 45(-42)
HEIDFELD 20
ROSBERG 16
MASSA 15
PETROV 15
KOBAYASHI 13

With this system it seems closer and has the benefits of still offering 10 chances for points.

So what does everyone think?

Good to be here, and come on Ham for the win in Canada.

HamFan

[darwin dali]

With your system you're diminishing the value of a victory by bringing the relative point gap back to how it was before, i.e., 10 - 8, which is 20% which is the same as 15 - 12. Today's gap is 7/25 = 28%, which is good since it encourages drivers to go for the win rather than be content with 2nd place. So, no - I don't like your new system, mainly because I didn't like the previous one either.

[HamFan]

I do mention that I did enjoy that aspect of the new system for last years championship. But what is the point of giving the incentive for a win when this means the season can practically be over within 6 races.

I just feel that it would be good to keep it close and have a bit of a fight throughout the season.

Also, with the Pirelli tyres now in place and overtaking a lot easier. I think the incentive for the win would indeed be there.

[darwin dali]

I do mention that I did enjoy that aspect of the new system for last years championship. But what is the point of giving the incentive for a win when this means the season can practically be over within 6 races.

I just feel that it would be good to keep it close and have a bit of a fight throughout the season.

Also, with the Pirelli tyres now in place and overtaking a lot easier. I think the incentive for the win would indeed be there.

Your line of reasoning reminds me of the FIA during the MS dominance. That's exactly why they introduced that 10-8 point system and it sooked balls ever since. Now they have a much better point system that is close to the old 9-6 system (33%), but offering more point scoring positions than the old one. So, good on them!
Last year we had a very tight championship with the current point system, so that was good. This year so far it's a one-man show, which is good as well because dominance and skills should be rewarded. It doesn't happen that often anyway - usually there are at least 2 drivers in the running, often more than that. Just because LH is struggling is not a reason for a knee-jerk reaction to change the point system again.

[HamFan]

Firstly Although my name is HamFan, this is not a post that is biased towards him. I would happily see any driver get the wins and find themselves in the position to challenge Vettel.

Also I am not saying that Vettel's dominance should not be applauded, he has been on top form since the end of last season and has not put a foot out of place which is a true mark of skill. However we are six races into the season and for all intensive purposes he has won the title. I realise this is a point that can (and is currently on this forum) be debated, but it seems very unlikely that anyone will catch him now, and who wants to watch a battle for second place?

All I'm asking is for peoples opinion on whether they feel a tweak to the points (and please note I said "in the next few years" not next year) would aid in keeping the fight close in seasons of dominance and even closer in the tight ones.

[myownalias]

Compared to the 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 I like the new system but ultimately I prefer the 10, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 system, The new system with the top 10 finishers scoring a point allows for more teams/drivers to score points but I liked the top six finishers only getting points because the 7 through 10th positions would be trying harder to score a point! Winning a world championship for claiming a lowly 10th place and the one point that a driver may need feels like an anti-climax to me, having to fight upto sixth from tenth is a mighty more appealing proposition!

[acosmichippo]

I'd imagine it's easier to separate the teams into definitive positions if more teams can earn points. That's becoming more and more crucial with the ever-increasing percentage of earnings teams get from the Concorde Agreements.

[oaba09]

IMO, there should be a significant gap between 1st & 2nd place in order to motivate the drivers to always go for the win...
I like the points system that they are using today because it rewards race winners w/ 7 more points...I do however believe that points should be more spread out in order to make the race meaningful for the back markers...

[Frontrunner]

What do people think about giving 1 point for the fastest lap in the race like they did many many years ago. It would be a little handy for Webber as i think he has 4 fastest laps this years... stuff that lets give 10 points for the fastest lap

[acosmichippo]

i don't like it. Fastest lap is more about chance than anything. Whoever happens to be running the freshest Options as late as possible (read: with as little fuel as possible) seems to get it.

[LewEngBridewell]

I prefer new system. Victory is rewarded much more than in the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 days. It's sort of similar in that way to pre-2003, but points are awarded down to 10th, which gives smaller teams a better chance. I'm all up for that.

[What's Burning?]

I find myself having no preference whatsoever actually, they apply the same for everyone and I do believe it's a racing driver's nature to try to get the best result whether it's for points or for14th place.

[scotty]

It was inevitable that people wouldn't like the new system if one driver started running away with it. I think it's a good balance between the 10,6,4 and 10,8,6 systems. It would get stupid if they changed the rules AGAIN any time soon just because of one season here and there.

[myownalias]

It was inevitable that people wouldn't like the new system if one driver started running away with it. I think it's a good balance between the 10,6,4 and 10,8,6 systems. It would get stupid if they changed the rules AGAIN any time soon just because of one season here and there.

Isn't the 10, 6, 4 system the same as the 25, 18, 15 really? The spread percentage works out near enough the same, just that more drivers get points under the new system,

[scotty]

It was inevitable that people wouldn't like the new system if one driver started running away with it. I think it's a good balance between the 10,6,4 and 10,8,6 systems. It would get stupid if they changed the rules AGAIN any time soon just because of one season here and there.

Isn't the 10, 6, 4 system the same as the 25, 18, 15 really? The spread percentage works out near enough the same, just that more drivers get points under the new system,

I can't remember the exact numbers but 25-18 is the same as 10-7.2 (or something close to that), so it splits the difference between the first and second place guys...