Drivers not keen on new points system
#1
03-18-2009, 03:02 PM
Drivers not keen on new points system
Nick Heidfeld on Wednesday was among a number of drivers to comment on the late change to the points system ahead of the 2009 season.
Despite some quarters welcoming the move to guarantee the winner of the most races the drivers' title, the more widespread reaction to the 'gold medals'-style regime has been negative.
"It's a matter of taste, but my taste is not for that," BMW Sauber's Heidfeld told Germany's SID news agency.
"I like the old way better. With points it is comprehensible. There is not only one or a few races (in a season), but 17 or 18."
He said the new system is not straightforward, given that while the 2009 champion could have fewer points than the runner-up, the rest of the standings will be ranked by regular points order.
"I find that silly. The basis should be the same for all," Heidfeld added.
His German countryman Nico Rosberg slammed the new system as "nonsense", while Brawn's Jenson Button - tipped by Bernie Ecclestone as an outsider for the title because of the change - warned the rulemakers that their scheme could backfire.
"I understand the logic behind it and it's interesting," the Briton said. "It's an incentive to try to win but it also looks risky to me."
"After nine races you could get a driver who's already won the title and can take the rest of the season off, while the driver in second is only 18 points behind," he remarked.
When Ecclestone first proposed his radical 'medals' idea, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton made clear he did not back it because 'the team who is most consistent' should house the title winner.
At the Jerez test on Wednesday, he insisted: "I have no opinion on this."
E.A, Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International
Despite some quarters welcoming the move to guarantee the winner of the most races the drivers' title, the more widespread reaction to the 'gold medals'-style regime has been negative.
"It's a matter of taste, but my taste is not for that," BMW Sauber's Heidfeld told Germany's SID news agency.
"I like the old way better. With points it is comprehensible. There is not only one or a few races (in a season), but 17 or 18."
He said the new system is not straightforward, given that while the 2009 champion could have fewer points than the runner-up, the rest of the standings will be ranked by regular points order.
"I find that silly. The basis should be the same for all," Heidfeld added.
His German countryman Nico Rosberg slammed the new system as "nonsense", while Brawn's Jenson Button - tipped by Bernie Ecclestone as an outsider for the title because of the change - warned the rulemakers that their scheme could backfire.
"I understand the logic behind it and it's interesting," the Briton said. "It's an incentive to try to win but it also looks risky to me."
"After nine races you could get a driver who's already won the title and can take the rest of the season off, while the driver in second is only 18 points behind," he remarked.
When Ecclestone first proposed his radical 'medals' idea, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton made clear he did not back it because 'the team who is most consistent' should house the title winner.
At the Jerez test on Wednesday, he insisted: "I have no opinion on this."
E.A, Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International
#2
03-19-2009, 03:04 AM
#3
03-19-2009, 03:10 AM
the way I see it, it gives more incentive for the front runners to push for the win instead of settling for a podium finish ..... under the new system consistency is not forgotten you can't win a few races and f*%K up on the rest and end up winning the title it does however incentivize drivers to push for the win which in turn will make the championship closer and more exciting
#4
03-19-2009, 03:21 AM
Ecclestone certain new points will work
Bernie Ecclestone is confident that awarding the world championship to the driver with most wins will improve the racing in Formula 1 more than changes to car or circuit design would.Yesterday the FIA World Motor Sport Council agreed the radical change to the system, which had been proposed by Ecclestone's Formula One Management organisation as an alternative to the F1 supremo's original suggestion of medals for the top three in each race. The Formula One Teams' Association's idea for a 12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1 points system was rejected.Ecclestone has welcomed the FIA's decision and expects it to make a big difference to the racing at the front of the field.
"It's a modification of my idea of medals, which I wanted to go down to bronze in third place, but this is a good start," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"The idea is to get people racing. Somebody that's second has got to try and win rather than thinking that if he happens to win he'll only get two (more) points - not a big motivation to try and get past someone.
"For what reason would they want to get past? If somebody's in the lead and you're in second, why are you going to want to take risks to get past for two (more) points?"
He is adamant that the scoring system was the main reason for the lack of action in lead battles in recent years.
"There are all these complaints that the cars are wrong and the circuits are wrong, but in the end I think the guys that are actually driving the cars have a lot to do with it," said Ecclestone. "If you were first and I was second, and I thought it was a risk to overtake you, I wouldn't bother."
Had the 'winner takes all' system been in place in 2008, Felipe Massa would have won the championship rather than Lewis Hamilton. But Ecclestone thinks Hamilton would have pushed harder for victories had the new method applied.
"On a couple of occasions when he could've and should've overtaken, he didn't," Ecclestone said.
He thinks the change will get a positive reception from drivers.
"Really and truly the guys that know they're going to win are quite happy, and the ones that aren't going to win don't care," said Ecclestone.
"It was unanimously agreed by the world council, it went through nicely, and we're going to leave all the points for the other championships as they are at the moment."
By: Matt Beer
source: [www.autosport.com]
#5
03-19-2009, 03:49 AM
the way I see it, it gives more incentive for the front runners to push for the win instead of settling for a podium finish ..... under the new system consistency is not forgotten you can't win a few races and f*%K up on the rest and end up winning the title it does however incentivize drivers to push for the win which in turn will make the championship closer and more exciting
You know that F1 is all about maximizing results under the rules at the moment. Teams/drivers will have a strategy to do so with this rule. Curious to see how this plays out.
#6
03-19-2009, 04:38 AM
there is a point advantage for winning vs 2nd place and and one more point for 3rd vs 4th place ..... I don't see a huge disparity in the system it just makes winning and finishing on the podium more lucrative add that to the new regs that have supposedly made overtaking easier and have hurt Ferrari and Mclaren in terms of development and advantaged the rest of the field. I think it will be a closer fight to the championship. I don't think the current situation will allow ANY driver to rest on their laurels having did well in the first 2/3rds of the championship
#7
03-20-2009, 05:55 AM
Max Mosley will once again not attend the Bahrain Grand Prix, circuit boss Martin Whitaker has confirmed.
A year ago, in the midst of the FIA President's sex scandal, the Gulf Kingdom's royal family asked the embattled Mosley to stay away despite his scheduled visit.
Whitaker, however, told the local Gulf Daily News that the 68-year-old's confirmed absence in 2009 is nothing to do with the sadomasochistic saga.
Whitaker's on Thursday was also a rare voice of support for the new 'gold medals' system of scoring for the 2009 F1 season.
"Sports is all about winning, not necessarily consistency, so I think this change is of huge relevance," he said during a media event at the Sakhir venue.
The track is scheduled to host round four of the 2009 world championship late next month.
Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International
A year ago, in the midst of the FIA President's sex scandal, the Gulf Kingdom's royal family asked the embattled Mosley to stay away despite his scheduled visit.
Whitaker, however, told the local Gulf Daily News that the 68-year-old's confirmed absence in 2009 is nothing to do with the sadomasochistic saga.
Whitaker's on Thursday was also a rare voice of support for the new 'gold medals' system of scoring for the 2009 F1 season.
"Sports is all about winning, not necessarily consistency, so I think this change is of huge relevance," he said during a media event at the Sakhir venue.
The track is scheduled to host round four of the 2009 world championship late next month.
Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International
#8
03-21-2009, 06:37 PM
I think Bernie is seriously underestimating the motivation for the drivers to race. They're all there because they want to win. I can't think of a single instance over the past few years when I driver abandoned a shot at winning a race because he thought it wasn't worth the extra couple of points. If the drivers don't have enough motivation to win for the sake of winning, they don't belong in F1.
#9
03-22-2009, 09:52 AM
I think Bernie is seriously underestimating the motivation for the drivers to race. They're all there because they want to win. I can't think of a single instance over the past few years when I driver abandoned a shot at winning a race because he thought it wasn't worth the extra couple of points. If the drivers don't have enough motivation to win for the sake of winning, they don't belong in F1.
well not exactly drivers such as Massa, Kimi and Lewis on numerous occasions settled for second because it was too risky to do all or nothing for a 2 point advantage
