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Alonso: Revised F1 points system would lose "miracle" results
Fernando Alonso thinks Formula 1 would lose one of its key attractions if it dishes out points all the way down to 20th place.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jul 17, 2018, 11:59 AM
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With F1's owners Liberty Media considering ripping up the current points structure that rewards down to 10th spot, Alonso fears that automatic scoring would take away the hero moments that come when underdogs finish well.
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He cites the fanfare around Jules Bianchi's maiden top 10 finish for the Marussia team at Monaco in 2014 as a classic example of why points should not become a certain thing.
"I think in F1 it has always been quite difficult to get points," said Alonso. "The lead guys take points and it was kind of a reward, a big moment, when you score two points or something.
"I remember now – Jules – when he scored the ninth position in Monaco, it was some kind of miracle and that was a big moment for the sport.
"If everyone is scoring points now, then maybe we lose that unique thing in F1 that other categories don't have."
No decision has yet been made about the points structure, and Haas boss Gunther Steiner thinks it could be extremely hard to decide the exact system if the points pool is expanded.
"We need to make sure that how the points are given that it's fair, that the position you fight for is a reward for it," he said.
"I don't think if you have a maximum of 25 points now for the winner, you cannot do that [any more], because there needs to be gaps between them.
"If you finish 10th or 15th, there needs to be a good gap, but I think you have to start with a complete new set of numbers for the winner, like 50 or 100.
"It's not my job to do this kind of calculation. Going to 20, I'm not for it, because at the moment to get into the points is a big event.
"Okay, we are going to the points when you are 15th, which is fine, but always being in the points, you take away something from the sport."
Steiner has experience of NASCAR, where points are awarded down to 40th spot, and he thinks that such a scenario does take away a major talking point that happens in F1 when small outfits do score.
"You never speak about a team that got into the points, so you would take away something that is attractive, or which our fans are used to," he said.
"We shouldn't take things away from them, we should add things and make them better and not take stuff away.
"It's easy to talk about it, but if you make it too complex like we have in NASCAR with stage racing, it's quite confusing to be honest. If you're not an avid fan of it, it's difficult to follow."
Additional reporting by Jamie Klein and Edd Straw
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