Bernie wants a medal system
;)
;)
F1 Grand Prix boss Bernie Ecclestone wants the current F1 Grand Prix points system to change to a medal-based system.
President and CEO of Formula One management and administration, Bernie Ecclestone, would like the current points system to be changed to a medal-based system, which, according to him, would force F1 drivers to race to win instead of racing to simply muster the most points.
With the current system, a racing driver could become world champion without having won any Grand Prix races. With a medal-based system, the driver with the most gold medals would be the world champion, while second place would go to the driver with the most silver, and third to the driver with most bronze medals.
In the event of a tie, Mr Ecclestone said that the number of silver and bronze medals would be taken into account to finalise the winner for the season.
Mr Ecclestone is of the opinion that a medal-based system would make the sport of Formula One racing much more exciting, as more overtaking would take place and more chances be taken to take the lead in a race. This, in turn, would mean that fans would get more worth for their money.
According to Mr Ecclestone, Formula One is the pinnacle of world motor sport, and as such should be represented by drivers who race hard. He says the current system means that great drivers often settle for second or third place, as a way of being conservative, since points are more important that position. A driver would rather take home some points, than no points at all.
Mr Ecclestone said that although the system should change for race results, the constructors’ championship system, which is based on points, should remain the same. This because teams count on points to determine their share in the annual prize fund.
About claims made in some media circles that Mr Ecclestone wants to change the rules because Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 Grand Prix, he exclaimed “Rubbish!” and proceeded to explain that Hamilton was a worthy world champion, expressing his delight in the 2008 Grand Prix world champion.
What was of concern, however, was that Hamilton only needed a fifth place finish in the final race, to secure the world championship. This, said Mr Ecclestone, is not something fans of the sport want to see, whether live or on TV. They want to see the best drivers in the world battling it out on the track.
Questioned about whether he worried that with a medal-based system the Formula One season could be finished by mid-season, Mr Ecclestone replied that this type of scenario is more likely to happen under the current points system. He said that any constructor with a superior built car could dominate the race scene under any type of scoring system.
He said that a driver with three or four medals down could still become world champion with four or five races left in the season, an occurrence much less likely to happen with the current points system.
Mr Ecclestone said that he was pleased to see Formula One teams agreeing that expenditures need to be cut to keep the championship wide open and exciting, something he’s been urging them to do for some time.
