Less than a month after the 2013 season has come to a close, F1 has been experimenting with some controversial ideas that would essentially change the sport if instituted.
The possibility that Formula 1 would award double points for the season-ending race, beginning with next year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, may seem at first a rather strange suggestion, more appropriate for a local dirt track than for the world’s premier motorsports sanctioning body.
However, the reason for it is simple, Sebastian Vettel won the 2013 title with three races to go—technically, but if you discount the “on paper” chances of drivers who clearly weren’t going to catch him, that number was more like four or five. Along with that domination came a marked decrease in interest in the championship as the season wound down. Regardless of the unpredictability that accompanies the introduction of the new 1.6-liter turbocharged V-6s in 2014, when you consider the investment of Red Bull in its development program, there’s no reason to expect much will change next year.
The same gimmick is used in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup, where the series almost insists that the championship come down to the final event—perhaps a requisite to drum up a decent crowd at the season-finale-host Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Chase for the Cup erases season points, and the top dozen drivers—or 13 this year—have their own separate points battle in the final 10 races. Yes, Jimmie Johnson dominated on his way to a sixth title, but, the deal wasn’t closed until Homestead—which still wasn’t sold out.
Another change to be determined in 2014 is directed at controlling costs. A cap is proposed on per-season costs beginning in 2015, similar to the salary-cap system used in American professional sports, except that this wouldn’t include just salaries, but team budgets, too. This idea has floated around the sport for years, but there are two major issues: How much should the cap be? How do you monitor it?
Both of these ideas have been around for a while, so there is no telling if or when they will come into being as far as the sport is concerned.
