Martin Brundle wasn’t at the Chinese Grand Prix working for Sky Sports when the news that a new Formula 1 points system had been proposed.
The race ended with one of the five backmarkers seeing their drivers score a point, with Nico Hulkenberg once again sneaking into 10 position.
Posting on social media, Martin Brundle gave his verdict on the latest idea being floated around to reward drivers for their efforts during a race weekend.
Martin Brundle gives his verdict on proposed Formula 1 points system
For the first time in years, a clear split has appeared on the grid between the top half and the bottom half.
Red Bull and Ferrari are the only race-winning teams this season, but McLaren and Mercedes have both finished on the podium, albeit Lewis Hamilton’s 2-place won’t count towards his official tally as he achieved it in a Sprint Race.
Fernando Alonso has parked his Aston Martin among the frontrunners despite his car being the fifth-fastest on the grid.
That means the other teams on the grid – Haas, V-CARB, Williams, Sauber and Alpine – are hoping for something to go wrong ahead of them to score a point.
In three out of the first five races, Lance Stroll has failed to finish in the top ten, creating that opportunity.
However, Formula 1 are considering a points system that rewards drivers down to 12 place and Martin Brundle has had his say on the proposal.
With three teams yet to score a point – but all three teams have had a driver finish in the top 12 – they would very much be in favour of the change.
David Croft and Nico Rosberg disagreed on the change when talking about it on commentary.
Brundle very much sided with the former F1 world champion, rather than his commentating colleague.
F1 points system could change again in 2025
Reacting to the proposal on X, Brundle said: “Formula One world championship points must be hard won and treasured. Valued.
“Not some kind of lucky dip where everyone wins a prize.”
The new system wouldn’t be particularly different to what’s being used right now, with only the minor points edited.
Drivers finishing in the top seven positions would be awarded exactly the same number of points as they currently are.
However, while 8, 9 and 10 are handed four, two and a single point respectively, that would now change.
From 8 to 12, the points would scale down from five to one, meaning Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu and Daniel Ricciardo would all be off the mark right now.
Is the F1 points system what’s going wrong at the moment?
It’s easy to understand why Brundle is sceptical about the proposed Formula 1 points change.
All it takes is for V-CARB, Haas or another team in the second half of the grid to take a big step forward, and all of a sudden awarding points down to 12 creates exactly the same issue.
It appears to be trying to fix a problem that’s very specific to this season.
Formula 1 has changed its points system on several occasions as for the majority of its history only the top six would be rewarded for their efforts.
In 2003, drivers in the top eight could then score points and it was extended to the top ten in 2010.
If more than half of the grid starts to score points every race, then it would at least negate any freak results that the weaker teams score that end up skewing the final standings.
The post ‘Must be’: Martin Brundle now delivers his verdict on Formula 1's new proposed points scoring system appeared first on F1 Oversteer.