Should F1 drop the point for the fastest lap? Our writers debate
Daniel Ricciardo setting the fastest lap in the Singapore GP reopened the debate about the rule that awards one extra point to the driver who sets it.
The Australian’s late switch to soft tyres allowed him to steal the fastest lap from dominant race winner Lando Norris, who was set to get the bonus point before the final lap.
The move reignited the controversy about a rule that could prove vital as the McLaren driver tries to keep reducing the gap to Max Verstappen in the standings.
So should the extra point stay in F1 or is it an unnecessary complication? Our writers debate.
The point rule should stay, but be tweaked – Jonathan Noble
When a world championship fight becomes as close as it looks to be this year, it is inevitable that the scrap for every single point will become more intense.
That is why RB’s decision to let Daniel Ricciardo gun for fastest lap in what looks likely to have been his final F1 race in Singapore proved so controversial – because it meant that Lando Norris was robbed of what could be a critical points bonus.
It is a scenario that has inevitably reignited the doom-mongers’ fears of a world title being decided by some fastest-lap shenanigans in Abu Dhabi, and renewed calls for the extra point on offer to be scrapped.
But, while there is admittedly a risk of a controversial finish to the season if spoiler tactics get rolled out, that is not a good enough reason to get rid of an aspect of F1 that has worked pretty well since it was re-introduced in 2019.
In fact, talking only about the fastest lap spoiling a title decider is a glass-half-empty attitude.
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The potential for a spoiler fastest lap tactic to influence the world championship is actually no greater and no more controversial than a team letting another driver gain an extra point through track position, or even being deliberately retired to help a team-mate who is running 11th move up a spot and get the extra point needed anyway.
Plus, the mathematical reality is that having that single extra point available, it could be what makes the difference between having a title finale or not.
Lando Norris could be 26 points adrift of Max Verstappen leaving the Qatar Grand Prix this year and still set up the prospect of an exciting thriller in Abu Dhabi.
If that bonus point didn’t exist, then the title battle would be done earlier anyway – which surely is not a better outcome for F1.
The fastest lap bonus has added an extra dynamic to races and, while certainly not perfect in offering up opportunities for drivers who are fortunate to have big gaps behind them in races, it does provide some added intrigue at the end of races in working out who wants to risk going for it or not.
And there are even times when, as Norris did in Zandvoort, the driver takes it upon themselves to go for it even if the team does not want them to.
Saying all that, I do think that F1 should potentially consider a rule change that if anyone outside the top ten finishers guns for the fastest lap, the actual point still goes to the driver within the top ten who has the fastest lap among the points scorers.
That would stop once and for all any games outside the top ten where there really is no downside to bolting on some soft tyres right at the end.
We do not know right now if the destiny of the 2024 crown will depend on a fastest lap or not, but as McLaren team boss Andrea Stella quite rightly said: “I think we just have to work harder to make sure that this doesn’t come down to a point…”
The rule needs to be dropped – Oleg Karpov
Whatever the real reason behind the RB team allowing Daniel Ricciardo to set the fastest lap of the Singapore GP, it only highlights the need for F1 to rethink one of its most illogical rules.
Even if it wasn’t Christian Horner texting Laurent Mekies in the closing stages of the race, begging the Red Bull sister team boss to nick the fastest lap from Lando Norris, it’s simply unacceptable for F1 to still have this rule. At least not with the current formula and these Pirelli tyres.
It probably made a lot more sense in the days of the tyre war, when Michelin and Bridgestone tyres were so durable that they not only lasted the full race distance but were good enough for drivers to push from start to finish. But now?
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images
Here’s the frightening scenario. What if Norris does indeed manage to close the gap to Max Verstappen and keep his championship hopes alive – and then leads the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
What if he sets the fastest lap, but doesn’t have the luxury of a free pitstop to put on new softs to guarantee it? And what if Red Bull simply pits Sergio Perez to steal that fastest lap – and that is enough to tip the championship battle in Verstappen’s favour? And what if it all happens in the final lap of the grand prix?
And that’s not even the craziest scenario. What if it’s not even Perez, but Zhou Guanyu? What if Sauber decided to let him celebrate the end of his three-year career by setting the fastest lap in his final F1 race? If you think Abu Dhabi 2021 was a disaster for F1, think again.
Of course, the likelihood of this happening is very low (or is it?), but still, there’s just no reason for this rule to exist, simply because it’s so random. Very often it rewards someone with a point who has just had a terrible weekend in a good car. How many times have we seen a team pit a driver who’s just got a big enough gap to the car behind – just to get that point?
More often than not, it’s the driver from one of the top teams who end up having a terrible weekend, losing any chance of competing with the rest of the top group – but his car is fast enough to make up a sufficient gap to the midfield. Why does F1 reward such performances?
It can be good. Sometimes it adds intrigue. And Norris’ fastest lap at Zandvoort was something special – I totally get that. But again, when the easiest way to get the fastest lap is to pit for a set of softs right at the end of the race, it just doesn’t make sense.
Wouldn’t it be more logical to reward the fastest lap, which is the one that really counts? What about giving a point for pole position – if it’s a straight fight about who’s the fastest guy out there, without all these additional factors? For me, that would be a lot more logical than what F1 has now…
