SUMMARY
- Formula 1 weighs extending points to 12th place, sparking debate and offering potential advantages for midfield teams.
- Alpine driver Esteban Ocon sees the proposal as a patch for current issues, preferring closer competition among teams.
FIA is considering a shakeup to the points system, with discussions planned this week. Currently, only the top 10 finishers score points, but a proposal on the table would extend that to 12th place. This change is seen as a potential benefit for midfield teams who often struggle to crack the top 10. Although the plans for this new shift have sparked a debate, it could end up being a silver lining for a few.
Under the fresh rule, drivers like Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon, whose teams have not collected points yet this season, would have received points finishes in the most recent Chinese Grand Prix. While some, like Kevin Magnussen, believe all finishers should score, the main goal seems to be increasing competition further down the grid.
Esteban Ocon shares his stance on the FIA point system proposal
The Alpine driver stated when questioned on the matter, “Well, it’s putting a plaster on a big cut, let’s call it like this. It’s a way of helping the current situation, I think. It would definitely work because we would have been scoring points today. But I would prefer to be able to race at the front and to have every team closer. I think it is fair to say that it is a small gain on what we are trying to do: making all the cars closer.”
📰: Esteban Ocon likened the proposed expansion of the F1 points system to “putting a plaster on a big cut,” suggesting it’s a minor solution to a larger problem of midfield teams being too far behind the frontrunners. While acknowledging that the new system would benefit him, as… pic.twitter.com/wn0D8jTjKW
— F1 Naija (@f1_naija) April 24, 2024
Originally, only the top 5 finishers were awarded points, and the point value itself has steadily increased over time. This evolution has contributed to the dominance of recent drivers at the top of the all-time points leaderboards, with legends like Michael Schumacher.
With the scoring structure set by the FIA for the top 8 finishers being the same: 25 points for first place, 18 points for second, and so on, this adjustment would not have much of an impact on the top teams. The positions 10th through 12th, which now receive 3 points, 2 points, and 1 point accordingly, would see the most changes.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali addressed rising calendar concerns
Stefano Domenicali is facing pushback from drivers like Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso over the ever-growing race calendar. The record-breaking 24-race season, along with additional Sprint events, has stretched teams and drivers thin. Domenicali defends the current 24-race schedule and regionalization efforts to reduce travel fatigue.
📰: Stefano Domenicali responded firmly to driver complaints about the expanded calendar, stating that participation in F1 is not compulsory. With the calendar expanded to 24 races plus Sprint events, drivers like Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso have voiced concerns about the… pic.twitter.com/Yqek0QS6sV
— F1 Naija (@f1_naija) April 24, 2024
The F1 boss took a blunt approach to driver complaints: participation in F1 is not mandatory. Domenicali boldly claimed, “I think 24 is an optimal number with the events that we have so far. The good news of this year, I took as a sort of responsibility from the teams and to the promoters, to everyone, [was] to announce the calendar much earlier than normally we do in order for everyone to be ready.”
He further added, “I speak with them. If you want to drive, you can drive every day. If you don’t want to drive in Formula 1, it’s not compulsory.” Verstappen and Alonso have voiced concerns about the workload, with Alonso even considering his future in the sport due to the demanding schedule. The Italian CEO highlighted the pressure the drivers are under but also suggested they can choose to leave if they do not find it sustainable.
