04/02/2014
NEWS STORY
Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that he introduced the much-maligned rule to award double points for the last race of the season to help Ferrari catch up with its rivals according to an article in the City A.M. newspaper by Christian Sylt.
Last year Ferrari finished in third place whilst Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel wrapped up the title three races before the end of the season. Vettel has won the championship for the past four years running and has been one of the biggest critics of the double points rule.
F1 personalities and fans criticised it from the moment it was first announced in December. Vettel said it is "absurd and punishes those who have worked hard for a whole season" whilst Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo told reporters that he is "not enthusiastic. For me it looks too much artificial."
However, Ecclestone says that di Montezemolo "has not been against double points actually but he was talking about it and I said 'let me just tell you something. It is very simple why we got that. It is because you aren't performing. I said 'if you were doing what you should be doing there wouldn't be any need for it.' He said 'I know, I know, I know.'"
It would have seriously shaken up F1's results if it had been used in previous years. Michael Schumacher would have lost one of his five titles for Ferrari had double points been awarded for the last race in 2003. However, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso would have replaced Vettel as champion in 2012.
It hasn't just been criticised because it manipulates the results but also because it favours the finale in Abu Dhabi which is often one of F1's most boring races. With double points awarded it will be worth twice as much as classics like the British or Monaco Grands Prix.
As Pitpass recently revealed the rule cannot be dropped for this year and, in fact, Ecclestone is pushing to extend it. Last week it came to light that he has written to the teams saying he wants it to apply to the two preceding races, in the USA and Brazil.
Ecclestone admits that this is unlikely to happen as it requires consent from all of the teams. Nevertheless, some have already voiced their approval with Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner saying that the rule currently placed "too much emphasis on one race" and is the equivalent of a "lucky punch". He suggested that he would support extending it to "take away an element of lottery over that last race." Many would say the best way to do that would be to get rid of it entirely.