Bonus Points for the hat - trick?
Discussion
A thought I had whilst watching yesterday's race - award one (or more) bonus points for achieving pole + fastest lap + win.
The logic is:
1. The hat-trick should be rewarded as it is a big achievement by driver (and team - constructors would also be rewarded, to eliminate instructions to turn down power)
2. If the pole sitter is leading the race by a comfortable margin he has little incentive (other than a warm fuzzy feeling when he looks at the record books after he has retired from racing) to drive at ten-tenths, but can "retreat" into preservation mode, taking pressure off him, his engine/ancillaries and tyres.
3. Similarly those in second/third place may choose to accept their podium and also protect their car. If they had the incentive (by way of depriving the leader, and probably championship rival, of extra points) they would put in some fast laps - spicing up the latter stages of the race by throwing down the gauntlet to the leader, resulting in an exchange of fastest laps towards the end.
4. Some championships have been decided by single-digit points, so bonuses for the trinity could be relevant at the end of the season. What I suggest would mean that they are only awarded to race winners so would maintain the dynamic that the fastest drivers benefit.
I am not proposing any bonuses for one or two out of the three because this may give an incentive to put in an average performance in qualy (if a driver were to concentrate on the win & fastest lap) or spoil the race (where someone blitzes qualy and slams in an early sensational lap before retiring). It is also unlikely to have massive financial implications lower down the championship - it would be rare that the midfield runners such as Force India, Lotus, Sauber etc would benefit and distort the end of season distribution of prize money.
I would be interested in the views of the cognoscenti
I'm a long term lurker in this forum but rarely post - constructive criticism of my thoughts would be appreciated, flaming may be fun (to some) but does not add to the debate...
The logic is:
1. The hat-trick should be rewarded as it is a big achievement by driver (and team - constructors would also be rewarded, to eliminate instructions to turn down power)
2. If the pole sitter is leading the race by a comfortable margin he has little incentive (other than a warm fuzzy feeling when he looks at the record books after he has retired from racing) to drive at ten-tenths, but can "retreat" into preservation mode, taking pressure off him, his engine/ancillaries and tyres.
3. Similarly those in second/third place may choose to accept their podium and also protect their car. If they had the incentive (by way of depriving the leader, and probably championship rival, of extra points) they would put in some fast laps - spicing up the latter stages of the race by throwing down the gauntlet to the leader, resulting in an exchange of fastest laps towards the end.
4. Some championships have been decided by single-digit points, so bonuses for the trinity could be relevant at the end of the season. What I suggest would mean that they are only awarded to race winners so would maintain the dynamic that the fastest drivers benefit.
I am not proposing any bonuses for one or two out of the three because this may give an incentive to put in an average performance in qualy (if a driver were to concentrate on the win & fastest lap) or spoil the race (where someone blitzes qualy and slams in an early sensational lap before retiring). It is also unlikely to have massive financial implications lower down the championship - it would be rare that the midfield runners such as Force India, Lotus, Sauber etc would benefit and distort the end of season distribution of prize money.
I would be interested in the views of the cognoscenti
I'm a long term lurker in this forum but rarely post - constructive criticism of my thoughts would be appreciated, flaming may be fun (to some) but does not add to the debate...
Gazzab said:
Not sure it would go anything to improve the racing though? I'd like to see more dicing. Adding weight to winning cars or reversing the grid or changing the aero are the only solutions that spring to mind.
Nah not for me, drivers should push hard as hell to be at the front not start playing the system so they might get a favourable grid position in the reverse grid!I've often said there should be extra points for pole, maybe even for the clean sweep like Lewis just had, brindle has commented that it's only the second time in Lewis's career that he's managed that, to me that would deserve a few extra points
Gazzab said:
Not sure it would go anything to improve the racing though? I'd like to see more dicing. Adding weight to winning cars or reversing the grid or changing the aero are the only solutions that spring to mind.
I'd suggest the same - a weights penalty for the top 2 would definitely add something entertaining to the mix.I agree tinkering with the points system doesn't really achieve much. What needs to happen is to have fewer regulations and testing to encourage free thinking design. In the current environment we would never have had the BRM H16, Colin Chapman's wonderful cars, the 6 wheel Tyrell, the shark nose Ferrari etc. etc. In a misguided effort to reduce costs they have strangled all development of the cars.
Jarcy said:
Reduce the points for a win from 25 to 24.
Award 1 point for fastest lap, whoever that is.
Status quo is unchanged assuming the fastest guy goes on to win the race, but the incentive is there for all to chase that fastest lap.
I like this idea, but think they should reduce the gap further between 1st and 2nd place to compensate, lets say reduce win to 22 points, a point for getting pole and then 2 more points if you are fastest all weekend, seeing as being fastest in every session is quite a rare occurrence anyway.Award 1 point for fastest lap, whoever that is.
Status quo is unchanged assuming the fastest guy goes on to win the race, but the incentive is there for all to chase that fastest lap.
Jarcy said:
Reduce the points for a win from 25 to 24.
Award 1 point for fastest lap, whoever that is.
Status quo is unchanged assuming the fastest guy goes on to win the race, but the incentive is there for all to chase that fastest lap.
Thats not a bad idea; don't like any of the others though. Award 1 point for fastest lap, whoever that is.
Status quo is unchanged assuming the fastest guy goes on to win the race, but the incentive is there for all to chase that fastest lap.
Extra points for clean sweep would just reward someone who is by definition monstering already. Although a trophy or recog might be nice.
Reverse grid- cheap trick to liven things up,and like success ballast has no place in such a closely prescribed formula series.
hairyben said:
Jarcy said:
Reduce the points for a win from 25 to 24.
Award 1 point for fastest lap, whoever that is.
Status quo is unchanged assuming the fastest guy goes on to win the race, but the incentive is there for all to chase that fastest lap.
Thats not a bad idea; don't like any of the others though. Award 1 point for fastest lap, whoever that is.
Status quo is unchanged assuming the fastest guy goes on to win the race, but the incentive is there for all to chase that fastest lap.
Extra points for clean sweep would just reward someone who is by definition monstering already. Although a trophy or recog might be nice.
Reverse grid- cheap trick to liven things up,and like success ballast has no place in such a closely prescribed formula series.
My idea doesn't penalise the fastest team (currently Mercedes) except in that it forces them to show their hand in what their true pace is towards the end of the race. I loved the drama on Sunday of Hamilton being told to "Hammer Time" the last 4 laps.
Furthermore, if Raikkonen hadn't reached the points positions, he could have pitted for fresh softs with 2 laps remaining, and then plug in a Banzai lap in an attempt to secure a point.
There are also mid-teams (Williams, Force India) who may have sufficient speed to plug in a fastest lap on fresh rubber, and who might benefit hugely from the scraps of extra points towards their championship finishing position.
Jarcy said:
I loved the drama on Sunday of Hamilton being told to "Hammer Time" the last 4 laps.
Yes, that was one of the more unusual ones in recent years. I actually thought that for some strange reason they were going to pull Lewis in for a stop/go penalty, which would have needed more like 30s in total (assuming a 5s stop/go), so I didn't understand it when the message then came throught to stabilise on pace.Still good to see Lewis giving it absolutely everything with pretty much dead tyres.
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