Among the measures proposed by the FIA, and approved for 2022 at the last meeting of the Formula 1 commission , and beyond the new details of the sprint races, there is another point that is worth highlighting.
The FIA and F1’s owners, Liberty Media , have made changes following criticism of the 2021 season from fans and pundits alike. And it is that in an extraordinary and exciting course, we experienced an unfortunate episode, that of the ‘no Belgian GP’, which was not disputed but where points were distributed.
In addition to the offense to the public, who actually paid to see a race that never actually started, there was also the allocation of half the points to the top ten, all after a few laps behind the safety car, without being able to compete.
In fact, after qualifying, victory went to Max Verstappen, ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, and the Dutchman left Spa with 12.5 points (half of 25) compared to 7.5 for Hamilton (the half of 15).
The FIA has decided that starting this season in a scenario such as the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, points will not be distributed, after modifying the requirements to score points in a race.
If at least two green-flag laps are not run, there will be no points or prize giving, while if the drivers cover a distance between two laps and 25% of the planned ones in the race, the top five finishers will score points: 6 to the winner, 4 to the second, 3 to the third, 2 to the fourth and 1 to the fifth .
In addition, the points in the sprint races also change, which will now be 8 points for the winner, 7 for the second, 6 for the third and so on until the eighth, which will add 1 .
Many pointed out that if the 2022 regulations had been in force last year, Hamilton would have been champion, but the accounts do not support them. And it is that Verstappen would have withdrawn those 12.5 points from Belgium, 5 more would have been added in the Silverstone sprint race (which he won), another 5 in Monza (he was second) and 5 more in the from Brazil (he was second after Bottas). Thus, Verstappen would have had 398 points at the end of the season .
For his part, Hamilton, without those 7.5 points from Spa but with 5 more for being second in the Silverstone sprint, 4 for being fifth in Monza and another 4 in Interlagos, would have added 393 at the end of the course, less than his Dutch rival .
With the new F1 points system, what would change is that Verstappen would have been champion in 2021 by a 5-point advantage and not by 7. And in fact, the one from the Netherlands would have reached the last appointment, the controversial GP of Abu Dhabi, with 373 points compared to 375 for his rival. That is to say, Hamilton would have faced the last race in advantage and with the possibility of being champion due to a double abandonment… would the speech prior to that race have changed or would there also have been talk (as it was) of a possible accident between the contenders?
It must be remembered that applying new rules retroactively is an unfair and pointless exercise that would, in fact, rewrite many pages of Formula 1 history. But it must also be noted that, at least in terms of numbers, nothing would have changed. in 2021.
