Thursday 16 January 2014

Double Trouble

As we know by now, one of the more shocking regulation changes for 2014 was to offer double points to the top 10 finishers of the very last Grand Prix of the year.

The idea is that the motivation will increase competition, and make the championship fight extend longer, unlike the snoozefest's of 2011 and 2013 (yawn). 

There are conflicting beliefs within the paddock that the points system is here to stay, Ferrari's Luca Di Montezemolo says that it's only a temporary folly whereas Lotus and Eric Boullier are certain it's a permanent arrangement. 



It's only one more desperate attempt to make Formula 1 look interesting, when in actual fact it's making the sport look like an absolute joke. Imagine making tries in rugby worth double in the last ten minutes of a match, it's complete crazy.

Eddie Irvine was spot on when he said the sport is completely lost.What gripes me the most is that Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA have basically said that Abu Dhabi, and the Yas Marina circuit is worth more than Silverstone, Monza, Monte Carlo and Spa. Why should emphasis be placed on a below par circuit that has existed for all of 5 minutes, above REAL circuits?

Oh wow, you light up, cause that's what the fans want...


One thing is always for sure; leave it to Red Bell and Sebastian Vettel to shy away from the fact that this only helps them. 

I'm not saying they had any involvement with the decision making, that would be stupid-thinking. What I am saying is that Vettel coming out and calling it "absurd," and Christian Horner criticising the FIA is rather cheap considering they are the only ones who truly benefit.


Red Bull perform far better in the second half in a season. Asia is practically Vettel's playground, you know he's just going to pull maximum points every time. And with 3 wins in 5 races at Yas Marina, it's safe to say it's a Vettel track. What if Red Bull scrape by the whole season, get lucky (because we know it happens) at Abu Dhabi and steal it away undeservedly?! It says to the teams just give it your 100% at the last race of the season, it's worth the real points.


This is all assuming the order remains the same with the new engines however, maybe the change is so big that double points might actually prove to be a great thing in the sport. Right now, it makes it look weak.

It seems to me like this is a quick fix to a really terminal problem with Formula 1. Along with the introduction of the Vettel Trophy (trophy for most pole positions), these are just really bad decisions. If the FIA wants to emulate the success of other motor racing series', introduce interesting scenarios like reversed grids, or ballasts like in the BTCC, not something that belittles 18 races of hard work.

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