Will the Rule Changes Make a Difference? Part 1

In this lull between Christmas and New Year I have the chance to catch up on a few things that I haven't managed to post on. Over the next few days I will look into the rule changes that are being imposed for 2010 and what impact they are likely to have on the racing and championship outcome.

BTW, I hope you enjoyed my Christmas Poem (see below if you haven't read it yet).

I am going to start by assessing the changes to the scoring system. In 2010 the top 10 finishing positions will be awarded points as follows: 25, 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1. The reason for this change is that next year there are going to be an extra 6 cars on the grid and if the top 8 were the only positions to score then there would be a real danger that there could be a lot of non-scoring teams.

There is a lot of money riding on each position in the final constructors table and with four new teams (not to mention the 'small' teams of Toro Rosso, Sauber and Force India plus the unstable Renault team) all of whom are struggling for sponsorship deals as the world emerges form the recession; it is important that they have something to distinguish between them (and something to race for). Allowing the top ten all to score means that even if the season is dominated by the 'big four' of McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari there are still points available for the rest. After all, with Richard Branson and Tony Fernandes (Lotus/Litespeed boss) having a bet of their own - the person who's team finishes lower at the end of the serason must work as a stewardess on the other's airline for a day - there is a need for the (expected) minnows to score.

However, will this change alter the championship destination or the racing at the front end of the grid?

Last year, Bernie Ecclestone wanted to introduce a medal system where the podium finishers were awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals and the driver with the most golds at the end would win the title. Luckily, this wasn't introduced. Bernie claimed that it would make the drivers race for every position - fight to win rather than just accept second. I doubt that this would be the case; normally if a driver can win the race he will and only team orders (which only happen when the driver ordered to settle for second can't win the title or has already won it) prevent this.

With 5 points between each place on the podium it would seem that the new system puts more value on each place gained. However, the change is relative: This year second place received 80% of the winning points (8 to 10) and that will remain next year (20 to 25), similarly 3rd will still receive 60% of the winning points. The changes do make it more valuable to be on the podium (4th now gets 40% as opposed to 50%) but it is unlikely that this will change the title destination. In fact, if this system had been in place since 2003 (when the 'old' system was introduced) the championship would always have been awarded to the same driver. The only difference is that in a couple occasions the chasing pack would have been closer.

It therefore seems that the FIA has made a sensible choice to change the points system. It will mean that next year could (and probable should) see a new record for the amount of points won and drivers will probably feel worse if they retire. There is no doubting that 25 points lost feels a lot worse than 10 but essentially it is the same. Lets hope that the racing means that the championships are just as close as the last few have been.

By the way, I have changed the privacy settings on this site so anyone should now be able to comment - not just blogspot members. If someone could test that out for me I would be most grateful (PLEASE KEEP IT CLEAN). Also, I now have an e-mail address for this site alone so if you want to contact me at all just send your message to matf1@live.co.uk. I hope these changes mean that your enjoyment of this site is further increased.