Could F1's points system be extended to include 11th and 12th places in races from next season? F1 Commission to discuss proposal put forward by one of F1's teams on Thursday
Tuesday 23 April 2024 19:02, UK
A proposal to expand F1's points-paying positions for 2025 is on the agenda for initial discussion between the sport's stakeholders this week.
As first reported by motorsport.com, a proposal has been put forward for the points positions to go down to 12th place instead of 10th, in grands prix with a revised allocation from eighth-place downwards to accommodate such a change.
It is understood that the proposal has been put forward by one of F1's teams and is on agenda as a discussion point at the next meeting of the F1 Commission, which takes place on Thursday.
It is expected that the idea would require further discussion and consideration beyond Thursday's meeting were it to go any further.
The F1 Commission includes representatives from Formula 1, the sport's commercial rights holder, governing body the FIA, and the grid's 10 teams.
F1's existing 1st-10th points structure has been in place since 2010, when the points places were expanded by two from eighth and the scale of points awarded increased as part of a 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 structure.
The proposal for change put forward for talks to allow an expansion down to 12th place would see a 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points breakdown.
The first five races of the 2024 season have seen the top five teams - Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin - secure 88 per cent of the top-10 positions between them, with only Haas (four points finishes) and RB (two) breaking into the points places so far.
F1 has tweaked its points system at various stages throughout the sport's history.
The 2010 points structure replaced the one that had been in place for seven seasons from 2003 when points were awarded to the top-eight finishers in a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 format. Previously, only the top six drivers were awarded points.
The fastest lap bonus point was added to the current system from 2019, provided the driver setting the race's quickest lap also finished in the points places.
Points have also been awarded for certain places in the Sprint since the advent of that short-form format in 2021, with the top eight finishers at the end of the 100km dash currently collecting points.
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