So I was sat here bored this evening and decided to work this out. First of all, here is the WDC under the old points system (all listing all drivers who have scored points under the current system):
1st SV 107
2nd MW 69
3rd FA 65
4th LH 60
5th JB 60
6th FM 28
7th NR 20
8th MS 14
9th VP 11
10th NH 11
11th KK 8
12th AS 7
13th SP 2
14th PdR 2
15th SB 2
16th JA 2
17th RB 0
18th PM 0
Vettel has a 38 point lead, nearly 4 race wins, under this senario, and would likely win the title with 4 races to go (so in Japan) if he carried on at his usual rate this season. As it stands, he will probably wrap up the title in Japan anyway under our current points system. The other noticeable change towards the top of the championship is Lewis and Jenson having swapped places, thanks to Lewis having finished 2nd twice compared to Jenson’s once. Under the current system Jenson has two more points than Lewis.
After that it really is as you were until you reach the 13th-16th battle. Perez and DiResta both jump ahead of Buemi and Algesuari thanks to better personal best race results. The two Williams drivers lose their points as neither has finished higher than 9th in a race yet this season.
Now lets look at the WCC under the old system:
1st RBR 176
2nd Mclaren 120
3rd Ferrari 93
4th Merc 34
5th LRGP 22
6th Sauber 10
7th Force India 9
8th STR 4
9th Williams 0
10th Team Lotus 0
11th HRT 0
12th Virgin 0
Under the old system, RBR have a 56 point lead over Mclaren, compared to 131 points under the current system. Under either points system, McLaren could still catch RBR if they really got on the case in my opinion.
Down the bottom, the battle for 6th is really close under the old system. One crazy race could swing it for any of the 3 teams. Even Williams could turn their season around quickly if they could get the car to work better.
With so little changed up and down both championships, however, it makes me wonder if it was worth changing the points system? If anything, it makes the battle for 5th/6th downwards less of a close fight. Be interesting to hear your thoughts, now my model is set up I’ll try to update you after every race until the end of the year.