Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner is not yet fully convinced of the FIA and FOM’s plan to introduce a new points system. Laurent Mekies, team boss of Visa Cash App RB, and Haas boss Ayao Komatsu applaud the idea and see the advantages of a new points system in the premier class of motorsport.
Last weekend, Motorsport.com reported that a proposal for a new points system in Formula 1 is on the table. In the new plan, points are no longer only awarded to the first ten, but the first twelve drivers. However, this does not change anything for the top seven, they still receive exactly the same number of points, but from P8 onwards the distribution changes. In the new setup, number eight would receive five points instead of four, and then everyone up to P12 would receive one point less.
Horner is not unsympathetic to the proposal, but is not exactly enthusiastic either. ‘I feel like F1 is now split into two parts. The last five teams are fighting just as hard as the top teams,” the Briton said positively to Motorsport.com, but immediately made a comment. ‘We still have to go through the figures and then analyze what exactly is happening. “I am still impartial,” said Horner.
Ferrari team boss Frédéric Vasseur can understand the plan because of his recent background. ‘I’m not against it. I come from Alfa Romeo. I know it can be frustrating if you have had a perfect weekend, but because no one drops out you end up eleventh and therefore not rewarded. Now it is true that there is no difference between P11 and P20. I can understand that that is frustrating,” said the Frenchman.
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Sister team Red Bull applauds the plan
Not surprisingly, the proposal has met with the approval of the teams that usually have to compete fiercely to gain points. Mekies, RB’s team boss, welcomes the plan. ‘Of course I like this. You have six engine manufacturers participating and you have Red Bull Racing. So there are seven top teams,” says the Frenchman. ‘Even the lowest ranked teams now employ a lot of staff. It is almost impossible to explain to the partners that we are fighting for P11 while it yields nothing. When we look at the reliability of the cars, we normally don’t get into the points. I don’t think that’s right.’
According to Mekies, a new scoring system also solves another problem. “It prevents that if someone happens to take P4 or P5 in the rain, the other teams might as well not participate for the rest of the season,” says RB’s new team boss. ‘It ticks all the boxes and I don’t think there is a negative side. I hope this gets through.” Haas team boss Komatsu also thinks it is a good plan. ‘What would be a negative side? We now have teams without points, I don’t think that is good for the sport. If there are points for P11 and P12, then there is less chance that teams will not score points,” concludes Guenther Steiner’s replacement.
