‘Most wins’ rule delayed to 2010 after F1 teams spot FIA rules blunder

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A win will still be worth ten points in 2009 after all

The FIA has delayed the controversial new “most wins” championship system until 2010.

The surprise move came shortly after the F1 Teams’ Association pointed (FOTA) out that the last-minute introduction of a new scoring system broke the FIA’s own rules.

The 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 system used last year will be retained for 2009.

A FOTA statement read (emphasis added):

Following the decision of the World Motorsport Council of the 17 March 2009 to change the way the drivers’ championship is awarded, the Teams gathered and unanimously agreed to question the validity of this decision.

FOTA had made a proposal that was carefully based on the results of a Global Audience Survey, which allowed listening to preferences of the public, and all the Teams firmly believe that these indications should be properly taken into account.

The amendment to the sporting regulations proposed by the World Motorsport Council was not performed in accordance with the procedure provided for by Appendix 5 of the Sporting Regulations and, as per the provisions of the article 199 of the FIA International Sporting Code, it is too late for FIA to impose a change for the 2009 season that has not obtained the unanimous agreement of all the competitors properly entered into the 2009 Formula 1 Championship.

Since the change to the scoring system unanimously agreed by the Teams and proposed to FIA did not receive approval of the WMSC, no change can occur in 2009, and the Teams wish to reaffirm their willingness to collaborate with the FIA in order to jointly define a new point system for the 2010 season within a comprehensive set of measures aimed at further stimulating the attractiveness of the F1 Sport.

A short response from the FIA offered to defer the new rules to 2010, without making any reference to FOTA’s statement:

On 17 March, the FIA World Motor Sport Council unanimously rejected FOTA’s proposed amendment to the points system for the Formula One Drivers’ Championship. The ‘winner takes all’ proposal made by the commercial rights holder (who had been told that the teams were in favour) was then approved.

If, for any reason, the Formula One teams do not now agree with the new system, its implementation will be deferred until 2010.

The claim the FIA “had been told that the teams were in favour” seems rather weak given FOTA’s recommendations for the sport issued several weeks ago explicitly stated it favoured a revised points system and not a wins-based solution.

However the International Sporting Code makes it clear that the FIA cannot change the sporting rules so close to the start of the new season:

199 (c). Changes to sporting rules and to all regulations other than those referred to in b) above are published at least 20 days prior to the opening date for entry applications for the championship concerned, but never later than 30 November each year.

(d) Shorter notice periods than those mentioned in b) and c) may be applied, provided that the unanimous agreement of all competitors properly entered for the championship or series concerned is obtained.

The FIA’s last-minute decision to impose the ‘most wins’ rule, ignoring FOTA’s recommendations, drew massive criticism from fans including a record number of comments on one article on this site.

Since then several F1 drivers have spoken out against the new rules and the haste with which they were brought in.

It looks rather as though Max Mosley, in his eagerness to put one over the teams, has overplayed his hand.

Score one to FOTA.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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142 comments on “‘Most wins’ rule delayed to 2010 after F1 teams spot FIA rules blunder”

  1. Hopefully this can now be brushed under the carpet and they’ll decide that increasing the difference in points between first and second is a far superior idea.

    1. THANK YOU FOTA! Could be the saviour of F1, seems FOTA works, and they seem to know what we want (which just happens to be what they want) and hopefully they can make the joke organisation of the FIA see the light. this must be embarassing for the FIA to say the least…..

      FIA 0-1 Rest of the World

      scorers:
      FOTA 20/3/09

    2. rest of the world scored an away goal. fia needs to score 2 to win
      haha sorry fia, fota listens to us, the fans of F1

  2. I think this is a result. There’s been a raft of rule changes this year. I felt this might have been a change too far.

    Bring on next weekend!

    1. Eduardo Colombi
      20th March 2009, 20:14

      Let’s clean up the mess! It is time to change the directive board of FIA. That’s not all about the money, almost 60 years of traditions counts more than any money!

      Great to see that ridiculous decision going down!

  3. Not so fast, Max…….

    Good for the teams, the fans, and pretty much everyone else!!!

  4. Well it’s good on all counts apart from the added confusion it has caused.

    As Alonso said, the sport needs stability, not a raft of rule changes every few months.

  5. Good news, gives everyone a chance now, even the slow ones. I bet we won’t hear anything more about this mad scheme.

  6. But this is the only year when it might be a real improvement. It would be fine if we had it this year as long as it goes back to normal next year.

    When will they learn.

    1. Yer wha?!

      Damn there are so many posters now, 2 whole god damn pages!

  7. Much though I wanted this, such a sudden reversal makes F1 look very week, especially after all the news items on the new system. If it didn’t make them look weak I would have thought that maybe it was all a massive publicity stunt or attempt to cover-up the budget rules. With any luck, Mosely will be out by the end of the year, and that may affect whether the wins rule ever enters the sport.

    1. Mark Sinclair
      21st March 2009, 4:51

      Why would you wish to see such an absurd system put in place. Are you a bureaucrat by any chance?

    2. I mean ‘much though I wanted the points system re-established.’

      I’m just a fan.

  8. The ‘winner takes all’ proposal made by the commercial rights holder (who had been told that the teams were in favour) was then approved.

    Oh, right. The teams agreed with Bernie’s idea. Except…they’ve proposed their own entirely different idea. Erm, what?

    Shut up Bernie, you’ve badly misjudged this one.

  9. Great summary Keith! I for one am happy to see this.

  10. HUZZZAH!!!

    I can now resume looking forward to this years championship (& I reckon it just makes the FIA, Max & Bernie look weak, which is brilliant)

  11. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

  12. Ha ha Max! Hoisted by your own petard! Hallelujah…

  13. Mouse_Nightshirt
    20th March 2009, 18:21

    HAHA!

    F1: 1
    Bernie & Chums: Nil

    A great change, and nice to see the FIA’s plans backfire on themselves!

    1. I’m liking this!

      Keith – can we have a FIA v. FOTA scorecard kept to log the wins on each side since FOTA’s inception? Should give a good indication of the relative strengths of the two organisations – might even convince Bernie/Max to take FOTA more seriously (one can dream)

  14. Haaaaaaaaaaaaahahaha. :D

  15. 10 6 4 3 2 1 is the way to go, its not that big a grid

    1. Eddie Irvine
      21st March 2009, 1:36

      couldn’t agree more…

  16. there are still 8 days for them to meddle in. why does that worry me?

  17. That’s better, we could have seen the champion on wins, but third or fourth in points! Crazy!!

  18. This is absolutely great news.

  19. how dumb do you have to be to try and change things the break your own rules. looks like the lights are on but nobody is home at the FIA.

    weldone FOTA

    1. Well they made up the rules as they went along last year didn’t they (see Spa 2008)?

  20. I’m impressed with the calm, measured and unified approach that the teams took. There was a lot of “divide and conquer” about the FIA’s move, but they didn’t budge, kept their comments to themselves, and responded with the rules. they outmaneuvered Max and Bernie at their own game, and I can only hope that this is how things will be going forward.

    In the meantime, the focus should be on how to optimize the racing experience for fans. It seems that when this is done the drivers are on board and the teams adapt. As FOTA pointed out, their proposal was based on a survey. I believe the FIA and FOM have heard of them, and even commissioned them, but I doubt that they’ve ever read one.

  21. haha shows that people do have input into formula one also the medal system was always not going to make f1,f1

  22. Huge PR sucess for FOTA. Serves Sir Spankalot right, he should have spent more time reading up on his own rules, and less time trying to destabilise F1.

  23. No other sport in the world would have so little respect for the fans to make such a fundamental change to the rules so close to the start of a new season and with so little consultation with the fans.

    I’m so glad this has been put off for the 2009 season, hopefuly it will be binned altogether.

  24. Almost worth having the imposition in the first place, seeing removed in such a way!
    We really need to pay more attention to the rule book if this was in there all along. 30th Nov unless there is unanimous agreement from all competitors. Quite a big one.
    Hey, maybe the voice of the fans, drivers and teams does make a difference as much as it pains them to say it!
    Damn I can’t wait another week. Awesome!

  25. Great! No more confusion now.

  26. Oh Max, where r u?? where is your face? up inside your back?? LOL…. Glad some sanity existed when they formed the sporting regulations, without which we couldn’t get the first score for FOTA..

  27. *resumes excitement for F12009* :D brilliant news! what makes it even sweeter is that they were caught out by breaking the very rules they created. i can guarantee you the next time someone gets an unfair penalty from the FIA, this will be brought back up as a show of no confidence.

  28. Obviously I am glad about this decision but on the other hand how absolutley embarrasing is this for a F1 fan like me explaining to my mates…”Em the rules have been changed because the body running the sport is…..em….usleless and dense in their intake of fans (and teams!) opinions”

    What a horrible mess, the rule almost certainly won’t be put through for 2010, Indeed FIA 0 – FOTA 1 and may the score for FOTA rise.

  29. glad to see the unity in fota and the majority of the f1 community against those two autocrats bernie and max
    there is a simple soloution to the problem just revert back to the old point scoring system of 10 6 4 etc for the time being as there aren’t as many teams. The only problem was that the gap between first and second was too small.

  30. Tremendous ridiculous situation brought by Max Mosley.

    I sincerely hope this man fullfils his promise and leave FIA presidency ending this season.

    The only way to return to a sustainable and healfull future for F1.

  31. They really don’t seem to know their own statutes and regulations do they? I’m quite glad this will make Bernie and Max appear very foolish.

    In fact I’d bet a certain Alianora has more of a clue about their rulebook :)

    1. I would have hoped that Max had a better idea about the rule book he is supposed to superintend than I did. Some days, I begin to wonder…

  32. 10-7-5-4-3-2-1 ?
    ______
    I kinda wished the silly ‘most wins’ rule would be held. Why? Because it might have caused an upheaval against Max and Bernie.

    1. I like that scoring system, I think it’s fair enough

  33. I posted here a few days ago that the timing of the rule changes smacked of incompetence. Not knowing your own rules on implementing changes, however, I’m struggling to find a word for. Please help!

    1. Ignorance, idiocy, stupidity???
      I’m sorry my english is too short :-)

  34. Ace ! Now lets leave it over there in the long grass and forget the ‘commercial rights holder’ thought it ever knew better than the teams and the fans.

  35. This news compelled me to open up Photoshop…

  36. Excellent news ! It might mean that if teams and drivers stay UNITED, they can build a better future for the sport.
    If the teams stay united, Bernie and Mo cannot get away with their schemes.
    How many divisions do Bernie and Mo have ?

  37. Great news… I was excited for the new season before and now I’m truly going to explode! There was so many flaws in the “wins take all” system… changing the points awarded would do the exact same thing… but you could even go more extreme and award more for winning… maybe 14-10-8-6-4-3-2-1… that would make winning more attractive… :)

  38. Fantastic news. Hopefully the new technical regulations will lead to a compelling championship race and F1 will show the world just how unnecessary this meddling is.

    On every site, blog and forum I’ve visited, the reaction to the most wins rule was overwhelmingly negative. Hopefully these voices will continue to be heard over the next twelve months and the rule will never see the light of day. It really would be a giant middle finger to the fans.

  39. I like the change. More competition will bring more excitement.

  40. Well played Spiffy! But remember everyone. It’s Friday afternoon and Max will be busy in the dungeon. His stooges probably issued the climbdown.

  41. What a weird rule that was!

    With all the overtaking penalties handed out last year-it could have been a farce of a season with perhaps several all important wins being overturned by the stewards.

  42. YAY! Looks like I will be watching this season afterall.

  43. It’s time for Mosley and Ecclestone to leave F1.

  44. “Changes to sporting rules and to all regulations other than………”

    Has the maFIA won? Now everybody is congratulating themselves for a victory?, BUT HOW ABOUT THE BUDGET CAP?. Does anybody speaks about it?.

    Just a question, does anybody think that those multimillioners made that money because they are stupid? I have the bad feeling that this is what they wanted, and something hidden is all around.

    Time will say….

  45. Nice one Spiffy.
    And I think it’s revealingly stupid of the FIA to break their own rules.
    BUT.
    Remember what happened when Max survived the ‘no confidence’ vote? He came back filled with venom and with dreams of retribution.
    Now he’s been wrong-footed by the FOTA upstarts, I predict he will take his revenge on them for daring to make him look foolish (even though he is foolish).
    On principal, he will move against everything that FOTA want or propose. He will probably even try to drive the Manufacturers out of F1, believing that teams of garagistas will be easier to rule, even though it could fatally damage F1.
    Max is such a ****.

  46. I am disappointed. Was I the only one actually looking forward to the racing under the new system?

    1. Well, you and Bernie anyway :-D

  47. Brilliant ! Best weekend news for months ! I get the feeling Max/Bernie will disappear to their feotid little cave to lick their wounds and plan a massive revenge.. …pathetic ! We have to get rid of these wreckers… now !

    Now lets get back to the Drivers, the Cars, the Teams… in other words the REAL F1.

  48. christ. only in F1 could the council in charge of making the rules break their own rules. Formula 1’s image as a credible sport takes another hit…

  49. I’m sure I’m not the only who had a full-on belly laugh when they read about this. FIA? Credibility? Clearly it didn’t have much before, but this just takes the biscuit. Good on FOTA for sticking its neck out on this. It has listened to fans and, at the very least, has proposed something they might like.

  50. Haha, in the FIA’s stupid attempt to wreck formula 1 and mess up the rules, it appears they have infact broken their own silly rules! Don’t you just love karma!

    I must say though, I am glad to hear it will be business as usual concerning points because it has brought us some very close championships (and unfortunately some undeserved winners). Hopefully next year they can do the right thing which is make a bigger points difference between 1st and 2nd.

  51. Perhaps someone has some more embarassing photos that they were able to use to persuade Max to change his mind? (BTW, internet, you weren’t the only one looking forward to racing under the new system. It was, after all, just possible that the WDC would end the season with the most wins and the most points. That would have shut a few of the Luddites up wouldn’t it)

  52. very pleased!… looking forward to the start next weekend even more now!

  53. YESSSSSS!!!!

  54. What about the budget cuts? Looks like a diversion to me!!

  55. Thank God!!!! but thats only thanks to a lot of criticism from drivers, teams, and organizations, which could have gone on ‘strike’ if they didn’t change it! It was absolutely ridiculous! Very happy anyway although they should do more surveys to know what fans really want.

    P.S. What about the proposed 12 points for the winner system proposed by the FOTA???

    1. The FIA didn’t put it forward so it isn’t happening. If they had agreed to it at the WMSC then we would have had it for 2009.

  56. The thing i worry about is, if Max and Bernie are made to look as silly as they have been over this points debacle, then they may come back with even stronger changes to the sport we all love. Just so they can beat FOTA.
    IT was a very silly thin to make ut that the teams were in favour of the medals scheme in the first place. When everyone knew that FOTA were coming up with their own changes to the points system. S why do the FIA still insist the teams were behind Bernie and his ridiculous medals scheme.

    This could turn out to be all out war.

    And i am hoping the teams the tracks the drivers and all the true fans around the world are the winners in the end. Even if that means a totally new word championship.
    Formual one is only formula one because of those who run the tracks and run the teams. If they were not their then Bernie would get no money, and Max wouldn’t be able to Lord it over te sport we love.

    And Alonso is right in saying we need stability in the sport. As far back as i can remember they have been tinkering. Just LEAVE well alone.

    They messed about when Max became president, and then went way overboard when Senna was killed.

  57. I’m afraid that None of the changes that FOTA want and will ever propose in the future will be turned down By the FIA.

  58. The one thing about Max Mosley failig in his bid to retain His presidency of the FIA is i is likely that Jean Todt will be the one to replace him.

    So then what will be the differece? NONE. Or he may be even worse.

  59. thank god for that!!!
    would a 2nd and 3rd place driver, who where say 30s behind the leader with 10 laps remaining would have bothered to race wheel to wheel to the line. when there was nothing to race for. the most stupid idea ever!!!

  60. I wonder if Hamilton would apply his “neutrality” policy now. Clearly the new rule was a consequence of his championship last year…

    1. Where were you mate, in Mars?

      [click]

    2. Actually it was indeed because of Hamilton, but also Raikkonen because they let Massa win races with only a few seconds margin. Ecclestone felt that they should have overtaken Massa because they were clearly faster, but opted to stay safe behind him.

  61. Agreed Scunnyman, whatever FOTA propose from here on will be vetoed without consideration by both Max and Bernie.
    As FOTA seem fairly coherent and are prepared to speak uni voce at the moment, one wonders if (if the Manufacturers stay with F1) they might move towards a ‘breakaway’ series again.
    I am not in favour of fragmentation, but I am aware that with the paucity of independent teams in the cuurent economic climate, the Manufacturers have rather more clout and will not be afraid to use it.

  62. Also, on the bbc it was reported that Hamilton has finally spoken up about it. Gave me more respect for him just as I was thinking he was such a PR-machine that he wouldn’t even object to the change that would’ve undermined his championship. Glad he proved me wrong on that one.

  63. YES YES YES YES!!!!!

  64. Soulore Solaris
    20th March 2009, 21:59

    i agree thank goodness for FOTA! how many stupid men can you get fighting over a bone? Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosely have to be two of the most selfish and greedy powermongers its really quite incredible. Schumacher is dead right why change the rules so much and so often? makes it hard for anyone to follow, Ive been a fan for 22 years, and over the last few years its been so frustrating, so many times ive said to myself, when will i finally just walk away from this schizophrenic sport?

    i must say that the drivers are so humble in their opinions is most impressive and the team bosses are great when they are unified. Bernie increasingly is showing his age and greedy intentions, he is so out of touch WHY DO FOTA and the drivers put up with him?????

    and why do do Eccelstone and the FIA expect the teams to drop to such low budgets? and why doesnt Ecclestone similarly drop his budgets in the extorsion he seeks from circuit owners and promotors?

  65. I guess all F1 fans are to be congratulated of all ways they found to protest against that stupid thing invented by F1 two most wanted guys of the moment. I just hope F1 will stay strong and survive those two characters until more decent folks can take change.

    This today was just another SOLID prove of HOW BAD this sport is been managed by those two grocery store managers…

    It’s time to let the voices of the fans be heard and in our days the net is a powerful thing – you all seen examples, for sure, so don’t quit and relax, because it’s US that pay the coded TV channels, the trips, the hotels and the ticked to the races, so we must have a voice in the mater – not to overpower to power, but the eradicate those who don’t belong there and propose replacement for better ones.

    For them it’s all about money ONLY. For us (ever since I can remember) it’s about the show, the grace, the excitement that’s FORMULA ONE (even in those boring years of seeing that Schumacher character win the races before they begun… But that’s over, I think! Ferrari must not rule the sport, no team must rule. Make regulations that make sense for the top car motor racing sport, the King of motor racing sports, not some racing game in an arcade.

  66. Great news – but I was hoping for something a bit more dramatic – like Luca DM smacking bernie with a smelly fish!

    1. :-) would have been something “interesting” to see :-)a la Siciliana….

  67. Awesome. So when the champion this year wins the most races (which is what likely will happen), the credibility of the FIA and Bernie will be shot.

  68. theRoswellite
    20th March 2009, 22:51

    Oh my gosh……………………….

    Max didn’t know his own rules……………

    Can you hear the Two-Headed Monster (M&B) screaming at itself?

    He actually didn’t know his own rules(must be new to the job).

    Oh, my gosh…………………….

  69. ha ha spankmeister- you really blew that one

  70. Ha ha. This news made my day. :D

  71. Amen!
    hope that 2010 will be also a fuc..n joke:)

  72. I have always liked and still like the principle of having the driver who wins the most races win the world championship.

    But the slapdash, last-minute compromise cobbled together by the FIA earlier this week was poorly thought-out and obviously intended as a snub to the teams, so I’m not in the least bit sorry to see the back of it.

    1. Keith,

      I understand the Idea of the guy who wins the most should be champion. But it is not alwasy the way. No other sport is that way. You can win the most and still lose the champioship. That is part of the drama and the thrill. Look at USA Football the Patriots go undefeated agaist the Giants who have lost to the superbowl and the Giants won the championship. It to me adds to the thrill. I understand where you are at but I have to disagree. BTW Still Love the site.

    2. Thanks Jess :-)

  73. First thing they actually do right: Rubbish their previous decisions.

  74. The arrogance of the FIA’s recent decisions is breathtaking even by their own standards. I for one am delighted to see this ruling thrown out, and hope that Mosley will not be too far behind.

  75. The voice of the people have been heard! This will be an exciting season. I can’t wait. :D

  76. Wow, looks like I will be the only one missing that rule! Again it was pretty bad execution by the FIA and they ended up paying for it.
    Lets see how things will change for ’10.

    1. Got to say I wish I’d spotted it myself. Ah well…

  77. Personaly I find this hilarious. The amateurish kick jerk reaction of the FIA to try and force through the new rules only made them seem incompetent.

    What would be interesting to see though is what would have happened had the FIA implemented the new points system FOTA originally asked for?

    I’m just glad FOTA stood firm and actually brought some sense to all these rule changes

  78. Could this be the first chink in the S&Max/Bernie armour that has coated (or smothered if that is a word you’d prefer) F1 for so long?

    Three cheers for FOTA !

  79. Great news, but it has a bittersweet taste as there is still the possibility (however slim) that it may still be introduced next year.

  80. Seb C

    Take the result of Oz and apply the point system you like.
    You will then be able to compare what is, and what might have been.

  81. FIA Idiots have really embrassed themselves. The war criminal mosley must be shown the door. Good bless FOTA & the drivers.

    1. War criminals? Steady on.

  82. Just an example, if you are Ferrari fan and you see a McLaren won the WDC halfway through the season, will you still gonna watch the remaining GPs? For me, I don’t because there is no thrill to watch the other GPs.

    People will lost interest in buying tickets or watch it on TV – the championship is already predictable. Take a look for the past 2 years – the championship went down to the last GP.

    You know what they say – the lesser the viewers/fans = the lower the income (to the FIA). ;)

    1. Most people only remember 2007 and 2008 as season finale cliffhangers – rightly so as well – but most seem to also forget we had it in 2006 as well with Schumacher vs Alonso. Chances were a lot more remote compared to 2007 and 2008, and a puncture put an end to Schumacher’s hopes – but he never gave up till the very end. :)

  83. KingHamilton
    21st March 2009, 8:08

    as I understand it the FIA will review the system so tht the FIA and FOTA can come to a decision between them.

  84. Very good news. Max and Bernie really shot themselfs in the foot this time. Bernie not remembering the rules proposing something to Max who implements it, also not remembering the rules.
    Is senile the right diagnosis here.

  85. Bigbadderboom
    21st March 2009, 9:18

    Fantastic result for F1 but you cant help thinking that in some way the fans and FOTA have been thrown a bone. Did the FIA honestly not know how this would end? Max is enormousley clever also slimey and slippery but a ver smart man as well, I think we may look back at this as just one card in the Max and Bernie hand.

    Max and Bernie love money, reversing this decision makes litle difference to their revenue streams, however if they cap teams to £30 million budgets the teams will then become profit making, and we all know about Bernies nose for a proit. I can’t help but think that this reversal is a smoke screen for other issues!!

    I can see max sitting in his dungeon now stroking his white fluffy cat mking his best evil laugh! wahahahahahahahahahah!

  86. Call me a synic, but Bernie and Max didnt get that rich being stupid, they have simply created a massive amount of media coverage to get free advertising for their sport and at the end nothings changed. They have tons lawyers who know the rules inside out, they want the championship down to the wire, more tension = more cash. IMHO they new FOTA would call their bluff and it worked perfectly. As they say, no publicity is bad publicity.

  87. With this ridiculous move by the FIA the opportunity to implement the sensible FOTA proposal (12 points for a win) already in 2009 was lost…

  88. No other sport in the world would have so little respect for the fans to make such a fundamental change to the rules so close to the start of a new season and with so little consultation with the fans.

    Actually, V8 SuperCars here in Australia did pretty much the exact same thing, about 4 weeks before the season started they released new rules. (Including some pretty major technical changes like the two-tyre rule like what F1 has)

    And pretty much everyone (fans, drivers, team owners, media) have all said they’re pretty crap rules.

    Sound familiar?

    1. Yeah, the *stupid* qualifying rule just beggars beleif. I wonder how Todd Kelly feels about that tonight.

  89. Just to sound a note of caution – while I disagreed with the need for the rule change, this is by no means over.

    My understanding of the sporting regulations (which is less than total) is that the WMSC was unable to impose a change to the points system for 2009 at this late stage without having the unanimous support of the teams. However, presumably the FIA will still look to introduce the winner takes all system for 2010 with enough notice that it won’t need to secure support from the teams, just the WMSC?

    A victory for FOTA, yes, but a small victory and the main threat to the teams (and their new found unity) is the proposed budget cap.

    1. Appendix 5 of the Sporting Regulations doesn’t make a distinction between rule changes one day, one year or one decade before the season to be affected. It still needs to be applied – unless the FIA have some other mechanism to get round it (Article 199 of the International Sporting Code happens to ban the FIA’s act separately, requiring 20 days’ notice).

      The only one that comes to mind is Article 7.5 of the Concorde Agreement, which allows the FIA to make changes at any time for safety reasons. The trouble is that the FIA is conveniently ignoring it…

  90. I am now beginning to wonder if the FIA knowingly tried to weigh the opinion of the F1 audience with this decision, knowingly fully well of the existence of this clause?

    1. Perhaps, but a glance at the response on this blog and many others would have given them the same information!

  91. But setting the rules so late would have amounted to race fixing. After observing the relative competitiveness of the teams to then set a rule that would obviously benefit the strongest teams, can only be described as fraud.

    1. I think “race fixing” is taking it a bit far but I think you have a point here.

      Crudely put, in designing their cars the teams have to decide whether to ge for performance or reliability. Arguably the original points system places a greater onus on reliability than performance. Therefore anyone who’s built a car that was quicker than its rivals but not as reliable potentially stood to gain from the last-minute switch to a wins-based system.

  92. What an utter disgrace. No one (but Keith :) ) wants “medals”, but still Ecclestone and Mosley seem determined to shove it down our throats. Why?

    It’s delayed now, but only till 2010.

    To be honest I’d rather have a proper medals system like keith proposes than this two tiered scores+wins ranking system. They really came up with the “worst of both worlds” with this kludge.

  93. To be honest I’d rather have a proper medals system like keith proposes than this two tiered scores+wins ranking system. They really came up with the “worst of both worlds” with this kludge.

    I’m with you 100% on this – let’s have one or the other, not some confusing collision of both ideas.

    1. “That’s the problem with democracy”!

      Bernie is loosing his marbles. Time to exchange pitpass for buspass

      ;)

  94. HAHAHAHAHAHA
    IN YOUR FACE Mosley and Ecclestone

    Now who looks like Dumb and Dumber!

  95. These ‘improvements’ were always politically motivated, will thankfully never be implemented and for both BE and especially legal eagle MM be hugely embarrassing.

    Was it a calculated risk strategy on MM’s part or one of desperation given he has to rehabilitate himself by October and the forthcoming election?

  96. To the people in favour of medals:
    The right way to do this is just to assign more points to the win (over 2nd), like it used to be and like the teams want it to be.

  97. I’m happy, but I hope it wont happen in 2010

  98. Will the FIA now rescind the other March 17 changes, since they were also imposed in contravention of Appendix 5 of the Sporting Agreement and Article 199 of the International Sporting Code?

    1. Presumably if those changes had the support of the teams then they don’t need to be rescinded.

    2. According to the regulations they do. It’s only because none of the teams have actively protested that they’re still there…

  99. How embarrassing. How badly run is this sport?
    If no one can decide on a points system that everybody is content with, how can we expect to see fair racing?
    Once again, Max Mosley and the FIA have scored a
    gigantic own goal, everybit as damaging to the sports
    reputation as Spygate and the sex scandal.
    It never ceases to amaze me how childishly run F1 is these days, how petty and crass those are who are in
    charge. Can anyone imagine how the world would react if
    FIFA behaved in the manner the FIA have? Is there a
    sport anywhere on earth run quite as disgustingly as
    Formula One?
    All these long, winter months when we have been besieged by the collapse of Honda F1 and rule changes, yet a decision as vital as this was left to the last
    possible moment.
    I only hope that this is an ‘end to the beginning’ as Churchill once said, and the first steps towards a sport free from Mosley and Ecclestone. This reversal is a huge black eye to these two egos, and will not go
    unavenged. The teams, sponsors, and fans have to
    continue in this vain, remain united against these men, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll get ‘OUR’ sport back again!

    1. Interesting you should mention football – I’ve been reading about some of the grips football fans have with the way their sport is run and they’re not a million miles away from ours. Thinking about doing an article, perhaps after the first races are done.

  100. The FIAs face dosent know what the **** is doing…!

  101. I’ll write this having not read all of the comments so far, but I actually think the wins based championship does have merit. The idea of drivers no longer settling for a second or third but pushing all out for the win sounds like what racing is all about for me.

    However…

    F1 is not your usual racing series. It is historically dominated by 2 or maybe 3 teams during any one season. So the idea of a win-based championship solution would not really work as immediately 3/4 of the field are not in championship contention. Although, to be fair, that is the case anyway, whether using wins or just points.

    What exactly was wrong with the old 10-6-4-3-2-1 system? It didn’t pay points low enough, and Schumi was killing everyone in 2002 so the gap from first to second was reduced to try and prolong the time it took to win the chanpionship.

    Why not try something like this:
    20 points for the win
    12 for second
    8 for third
    6 for fourth
    5 for fifth
    4 for sixth
    3 for seventh
    2 for eighth
    1 for ninth

    It has the same point spread as the old system and pays down to 9th. Better than some stupid wins idea…

  102. spanky the wonder monkely
    23rd March 2009, 8:53

    i loved uncle bernie’s comparison with a 100m athletics race. sorry b, the F1 calendar is more akin to the decathlon where there’s more than a single race and the highest points scorer takes the overall win.
    maybe the IOC (or whoever looks after athletics) will follow bernie’s lead and meddle with how the winner is determined in dec / hept etc? i think not somehow.

  103. I am glad the points system is to be used this season, but all this has made Formula 1 look very unprofessional, the sooner we have regime change in F1 with Max and Bernie going the better.

    Is anyone else worried that after such a humiliation for Max that he will be out for revenge, and we could end up with a lot worse decisions and rules in the future, even though he said last year that he didn’t plan to stand for re-election again does anyone actually believe this?

  104. Gentlemen, hold your horses. You and all the rest of the F1 and regular media have been fooled. The sodding points system is not the news. FOTA did not defeat the FIA on this. The real issue is that Max and and Bernie got themselves a budget cap to force out the manufacturers, invite in the Richardses, Searses and Agags who are too happy to finally get into Formula 1, and wouldn’t complain as much about money and power, which would ‘safely’ remain with Max and Bernie. Read The Weekly Grapevine over at Autosport.com (sub. req.).

    1. We haven’t ignored the budget cap story: Budget caps for F1 in 2010

    2. I’m sorry if my post was a bit blunt, but it appears that all media as well as many posters here, have responded to this points scam, while the true story was and is the budget cap. The article you link to, Keith — for which a thumbs-up — is illustrative of this, since it has only a handful of replies compared to the other posts.

  105. Lustigon is absolutely correct on this. The point of last weeks announcement was always the budget cap, the purpose of which is to drive out the manufacturers (except Ferrari) and replace them with garagistes who will happily accept whatever Bernie decides to bestow. Formula One as we know it today will be over, unless there is a breakaway series. This is not a happy prospect.

  106. To those who think a cap is the end of F1: It’s an optional cap, and the stated intent is although teams who take the cap have more freedom, there will be no performance advantage gained by doing so.

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