The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Double points plan absurd, insists Vettel
FOUR-TIME world champion Sebastian Vettel has mocked plans to award double points at the final race of the 2014 Formula One season, branding the idea “absurd”.
Vettel, who won the 2013 title for Red Bull after winning the final nine races of the season, also claims “drivers, fans and experts are horrified” at the proposal, which was announced on Monday following a meeting of the F1 Strategy Group and the Formula One Commission in Paris.
Teams and drivers had been conspicuously quiet on social media outlets since the news was announced but Vettel became the first to break ranks yesterday in an interview with Sport Bild.
“This is absurd and punishes those who have worked hard for a whole season,” the 26-year-old German said.
“I value the old traditions in Formula One and do not understand this new rule.”
Under the new proposals, the winning driver at next year’s season-ending A bu Dhabi Grand Prix would earn 50 points instead of the usual 25, a move designed to reduce the chances of the title being decided before the final race.
“Imagine, in the last Bundesliga match (of the season) there was suddenly double points,” Vettel added, drawing comparisons with football. “Drivers, fans and experts are horrified.” Should the double-points plan ultimately see the light of day, it is worth considering that a number of recent championship battles would have been altered under such rules.
Fernando A lonso would have beaten Vettel to the 2012 title while Felipe Massa would have been champion ahead of Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
The double-points bombshell was one of several rule changes announced, which also included a plan to introduce a budget cap from 2015 and an initiative for drivers to choose their own racing number — from two to 99 — which they would keep for the duration of their time in F1.