Mat Coch writes:

The FIA has announced there will be a bonus points round at the end of the 2014 Formula One season. Announced yesterday along with a host of other changes, the news has been met with almost universal panning from the media and fans alike which saw feedback to Pitpass' original article label the decision "ludicrous" and "a distortion of competition”.

Negative fan reaction aside, a deeper analysis paints a rather confusing picture for a change which is clearly aimed at spicing up the championship battles until the very end of the season.

If the new final round double-up multiplier (DUM) were applied to the 2013 championships there would actually be little difference.

In the Drivers' Championship the DUM system would have made just a single change; Sergio Perez, who scored 49-points, would have scored 57-points under the new system and thereby finished above Nico Hulkenberg's 55-points (the Sauber driver he scoring 51-points under to the 2013 system).

In the Constructors Championship Ferrari would have out-scored Mercedes by three points, giving the Italian team second behind Red Bull and perhaps as much as £7.5m more in FOM prize money.

Those two relatively minor changes across a season which was, if we're honest, fairly typical in Formula One's history, are the sum of it. For a change angled at increasing the spectacle until the final corner of the final lap of the final race, it doesn't seem to add up.

It's only if the DUM concept is applied to the 2012 season that it would have made any notable impact, but again, not on the constructors' title. If in place for 2012 it would have seen Fernando Alonso crowned champion by seven points over Sebastian Vettel, but that stands as the sole change of note if the system were in effect from 2010 onwards.

Given that, what is the DUM change actually meant to achieve?

For such a fundamental and significant change to the scoring of both drivers' and constructors' championships it doesn't appear that a great deal of thought has gone into the plan, which has understandably left fans baffled, confused and irritated.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by 6wheeler, 11/12/2013 0:45

"Hmmmmmm, qualifying, fast lap, laps lead. How about laps run and oh lets not forget the extra point for getting the car off the transporter without dinging it up."

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2. Posted by scf1fan, 10/12/2013 23:24

"FIA/F1 would be better off giving points for qualifying, fastest laps and laps lead . . . Doh! Vettel would have won by another 100+ points . . . (At bit too much like NASCAR for me, but the points given in this fashion would at least be for racing accomplishments; and perhaps encourage teams to employ different strategies to get said points, not just a multiplier for the existing condition.) "

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3. Posted by GrahamG, 10/12/2013 19:58

"Quite an achievement, an even more stupid idea than almost every previous one, it's almost as good as the ideas of reverse grids, weight penalties for teams who actually win races and making the best drivers drive for the worst teams.
It would be nice to see a competition in which original thinking, good engineering and fast driving was rewarded, but F1 seems (as usual these days) to be working on how to make results artificial. How about Pit Pass shining a light on the Le Mans series which is a more genuine racing competition"

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4. Posted by Peter Rickitt, 10/12/2013 17:29

" In the past 72 hours, there has been alot of coverage of individuals allegedly fixing football behaviour for personal gain - if proven, the culprits will lose their money, their reputation and their livelihood: correctly.
But who suffers, is ostracised and deprived of their ability to earn when the fixing is institutionalised and organised by the rulemaker ? If it is Formula 1, the answer is......no-one.
I ask sponsors and funding governments if they believe THEIR reputation will really be enhanced by association with a contrived circus, where the poor performing animals have been replaced by human ones."

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5. Posted by tommyrocks, 10/12/2013 16:32

"I'm just wondering if this isn't a ploy for column inches during the off-season?

Wouldn't be surprised if it gets repealed before the next season starts & is just another way to get F1 into the headlines."

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6. Posted by Waleran, 10/12/2013 15:33

""Given that, what is the DUM change actually meant to achieve?" It's not meant to be retrospective!

The point is to work out how it would have changed the race by race points tallies during the season and would it have added interest."

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What's the point?

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