Vettel brands double points suggestion as absurd

The reigning and defending quadruple Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel has branded the new points system for the sport as absurd.

In their infinite wisdom Formula One have once again made a move to artificially enhance the sport.

Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA have announced the idea of double points for the final race of the Formula One season.

An idea that would indicate winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a track with no history or soul as twice as important as winning the likes of the iconic races such as Monaco or the British Grand Prix.

In fact with 24 points available for finishing fourth, that would be worth just one single point less than a race win during any other race weekend of the season. With second place taking 36 points and third taking 30.

At the back of the grid the importance of a good finish in Abu Dhabi could decide the outcome of an entire season in regards to the likes of backmarker teams like Caterham and Marussia.

‘This is absurd and punishes those who have worked hard for a whole season,’ Vettel told German newspaper Sport Bild.

‘Drivers, fans and experts are horrified.’

‘I value the old traditions in Formula 1 and do not understand this new rule, Imagine, in the last Bundesliga [football] match of the season there was suddenly double points.’

The idea behind the scheme, which has actually been scaled down from four races to one is to engineer a more exciting finish to the Formula One season.

But is it really required? Two of the last four years titles have been decided on the final race weekend of the season in any case and this will simply be seen as a knee-jerk response to a 2013 season dominated by Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel, which wouldn’t have been affected by the change in points system anyway!

In fact if this system had been in place over the past ten years then only three title outcomes would have changed.

Kimi Raikkonen would be a two-time Formula One World Champion adding Michael Schumacher’s 2003 title.

Lewis Hamilton would have lost his only title to Felipe Massa in 2008 while Fernando Alonso would be a triple World Champion taking Sebastian Vettel’s 2012 championship.

Meanwhile, McLaren and Force India have withdrawn from Pirelli’s Bahrain tyre test next week.