Game Show or Grand Prix?

By Simon

F1 is going to have a big change next year.  No, I don’t mean the engine change. I mean the points change.  25 points will go to the winner of a race with a sliding scale down to 10th place which gets a point, but the last race of the season will be a double points round.

What!?!  Is this F1 or Final Jeopardy?

I don’t like the current points system in F1, but this double points score thing is just too gimmicky and something Grand Prix racing doesn’t need. I know the points system has changed over the years, but I preferred when only the first six drivers got points and not many at that. The points from 1st to 6th used to go 9-6-4-3-2-1. With points going down to 10th place for the modern race, it means half the starting grid will come away with a point and that comes off a little weak to me.

When points are that hard to come by, even a single championship point feels like a win. It meant something. It meant you got a point and you earned it. It meant you were a driver of note.

Now, I’m not trying to be curmudgeonly (but I kind of am) but I don’t want points easy to come by. I want it to be a battle. If this stuff was easy, everyone would be doing it. With so many people in the running for points, it kind of dilutes the significance. If Grand Prix racing is the pinnacle of the sport, then awards need to be few and far between, don’t you think?