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Is the current points system fair? 

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With Ferrari and McLaren dominating the 2000 season, the most any other team would hope for was 5th or 6th place - unless one of those 2 struggle.
In 2000, Ferrari and McLaren scored a total of 322 points. All the other 9 teams combined only managed 110.
Ferrari scored 172 points, McLaren 152 while 3rd placed Williams scored a mere 36 points.
The current scoring system awards points for the top 6 finishers with 10 points for a win, 6 points for 2nd, 4 points for 3rd reducing by a single point until 6th.
If the scoring system is changed to give the top 10 or 12 finishers points, it could help make the Constructors' and Drivers' championships closer and less predictable. In addition, the current system does not award points for Pole position or for fastest lap or the total laps in the lead which could provide more excitement during qualifying and the race.

Do you think the current scoring system is fair ? Does it need changing ? Will it help make the Formula more exciting ? What do you think ? Have Your Say   (What others are saying)

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What others are saying:

I think the points system is fair, but I think it could be better.  Give the fastest lap of
the race 1 point, and revamp the points system so that the winning driver earns 9, 2nd
wins 7, 3rd wins 5, 4th wins 4, 5th wins 3 6th wins 2, and as I mentioned, fastest lap of
the race wins 1.  I think pole position for fastest qualifyer is its own reward, but perhaps
the fastest qualifyer should pick his position, either inside or outside.  This could benefit
him by positioning his rivals in a disadvantageous position relative to his own
- Tom R - USA


I think first place must be rewarded with 9 points as in the past, but the pole position deserves 1 point - Mario A - Guatemala


I don't believe the current scoring system is fair when you can have the two top teams so far in front. Ok fine, you may say that they deserve to be but this is only because they have the resources to build the fastest cars. I believe Bernie gives money to the teams based on points earned. Surely if points were scored down to 10th place then more teams would be able recoup some of the huge budgets required to field a team enabling them to have extra funds available for better development which should bring closer competition.

Moral: Don't just feed the majority of the funds back to the top six (more importantly the top 2), spread it to some of lower ranks as well to assist their development for the benefit of closer competition in years to come!!!!!
  - Andrew R - Australia


Blocking should be banned, it does nothing for the race. Only turns the race into a shame, drivers should give way to the faster drivers. Also there should be a rolling start in Formula 1 as that would make the race more competitive at the start. If a team is caught cheating, the driver should lose his points as this gives him and advantage - Monty - England


I think the points system is fair as you can see how close it is, as in other sports like NASCAR, you get points for most laps led which I think is pointless. But I feel that having a couple of points for qualifying first is a good idea - David H - England


It is certainly sad to see that more than 75% of the points are scored by only two teams. However, we need to also ask ourselves why this is happening. It happens because Ferrari and McLaren are the 2 best teams in Formula 1 today. Yes, they have the most money and probably the best people too, but then teams like Williams, BAR, Jaguar and Benetton are hardly paupers either. Besides, it is the very essence of sport that you set out to be the very best there is. If that means totally dominating your sport, then so be it. Look at Tiger Woods in 2000 and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the 90s. Anyway, utter domination in Formula 1 is nothing new. Look at McLaren in 1988-91 and Williams in 1992 and 93. Its always a game of "catch-up" in Formula 1 and today, that is what the others must do.

I also don't think that points should be awarded to the top 10 finishers. Think about it. How many Grand Prix actually have 10 cars running at the finish? Perhaps the only change they should make is changing the number of points a winner gets from 10 back to 9 points. This way, Schumacher would have won his title by 5 points less and the championship race would have carried on till the last race - Faisal S - Malaysia


The current points system is fair because it rewards results - they are spoils of war. But that does not mean that the system will change! TV ratings and sponsorship money are growing more important every season. TV ratings and the associated ad money paid to televise for qualifying may push F1 to award pole points. Also, with major automotive manufacturers like Honda, Ford, MB and Toyota pouring cash into the sport, these folks will want - demand! -  results. Going an entire season (or two) without scoring any points, as could happen for Toyota if their CART program is any indication, is not going to make for happy chief executives! NASCAR has figured this out and is awash in dollars. I hope F1 leaves things alone, but I bet we will see pole points and most laps led points very soon. Maybe we'll even see fastest lap points or points all the way back to 10th place? - Dom M - USA


The purpose of a scoring system is to quantify the in-race performance differential of the various drivers and teams.

2000 saw a clear differentiation between the 'A' teams and the rest. This has been a common situation in all my time as a follower of F1 (sure the players in A grade may and do change from time to time) and the scoring system has faithfully reflected this differential. Today Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes are dominant. The points illustrate this dominance.

Modifying the scoring system will not put Minardi's on the podium and adding points for laps in the lead, pole positions, fastest laps etc will only increase the points dominance of the leading teams. I haven't bothered to do the calculations but I guarantee that the lions share of these 'bonus' points would be sitting in the trophy cabinets of Schumacher, Hakkinen et al. If we really need to artificially bring the best teams back to the pack perhaps we could add one or two kilograms per point to each drivers car (or make them carry their trophies from previous rounds - Ferrari might then learn how to make a decent sized/shaped luggage area and let the technology flow down to their road cars - I will be the first in for a retro fit if they do)?

No, if we accept that the scoring system reflects relative performance then lets accept that two teams whitewashed the field in 2000. Coming 6th does not mean that it took 5 other cars to beat you and gaining a point for coming tenth may make a difference to the ego's of a few drivers and team owners but it won't change their competitiveness! - Geoff H - Australia


yes i do think the current system is fair, formula 1 is about money and technology etc so i think it would be rewarding mediocrity to award further cars and teams etc for coming 5th or sixth.However the problem lies in not enough teams being able to compete for the top 2 spots. You will not fix the current problem by awarding more teams with with more points, its just artificially creating competition and will not make the racing any more exciting as the same teams will be at the front and the same teams at the back.Making the driver a much bigger part of the percentage is the only way to fix competitiveness - mtolcon - Australia

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