New Formula One Scoring System for 2010 Season

The 2010 Formula One season is just around the corner. Major changes have been made again as the sport continues trying to work out a way to be more exciting. For the first time in a very long time, the championship has a new scoring system that tries to emphasize winning.

10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 - this has been the scoring system for Formula One throughout this decade. It has also resulted in a lot of criticism. Much like the NASCAR system, many drivers, teams and commentators feel the winner of the race should get more of a bump than just a few points over the second place finisher. By expanding the points difference, there is a common belief that drivers will be more motivated to move forward and try to pass at the end of races instead of settling for a lower position.

Formula One decided to change its system fairly early on in 2009. The only issue was what the change would be. With civil war occurring in the sport, the issue was actually tabled to this year. Regardless, the first offered idea was to ditch the point systems entirely and award a gold medal to the winner with a silver and bronze to the second and third place finishers. This approach made aggressive driving the end all to getting results. Alas, the teams would not agree to it since back marker teams would no longer be able to be excited about gaining some points by finishing fifth for instance.

After much gnashing of teeth, it appears as though the FIA and teams are about to agree to a final scoring system that is dramatically different than what we've had, but will meet everyone's needs. The system will expand to give points to the top 10 finishers instead of the top eight. However, the difference between the points earned for a win, second and third place will be dramatic. The proposed scoring system from winner on down to tenth is 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. The seven point difference between first and second certainly creates motivation to move forward at the end of the race.

There is one aspect of this scoring system that many are not discussing. It heavily rewards reliability. If you did not finish a race during the 2009 season, the most points you could lose would be 10. Now, the 25 point loss is substantial and particularly so when a team gets off to a very slow start like Ferrari and McLaren did in 2009. If this scoring system had been in place in 2009, Jenson Button would have had something like 150 points by the end of the fifth race with nobody really within 100 points!

Assuming this point system is finalized, and all indications are it will, it will be interesting to see if it makes a big difference in the championship. Even if it doesn't, F1 should be congratulated for trying different things.

Mark P. Warner is with FormulaOneResults.com - a blog where you can get Formula One results and read articles like is Nico Rosberg doomed with the return of Michael Schumacher?