Earlier in 2024, the FIA announced the removal of the fastest point lap in F1 following an internal meeting regarding minor changes in the regulations. Teams had been using that one point to make a difference in their position in the championship standings since 2019. It sometimes even saw drivers lose their on-track position to gain the point.
The championship battle is a point-based system in F1. Teams go all in to score the maximum points in all races against their competition as the season nears. They remain hungry even for a single point, as it can sometimes cause a major difference in the table. The 2008 Formula 1 season serves as a great example of the same. This was when Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa battled out for the championship. The latter managed to win in front of his home crowd in Brazil. This was the season’s final race and he was the champion. However, Hamilton made a daring move to clinch P5 in the race, which won him the championship by a single point.
This is why teams are willing to go all out for every single point that they can during a race. This very aspect was expected to make races more thrilling with the introduction of the point for the fastest lap. However, it slowly turned out to be a little more toxic within the teams for several reasons.
F1 explains why they got rid of the fastest lap point.
The introduction of the point for the fastest lap did not spark significant competition on the grid. The leading driver would manage to set a lap fast enough during the race’s final stages and take the point. Otherwise, it was others within the top 10 who had enough gap to pit and not lose position.
Moreover, the rules for the fastest lap point also mandated for a driver to finish within the top 10 to get the point. Finishing out of the main point-scoring places would make them ineligible for the point. The authorities also noticed that drivers running out of the top 10 would sometimes pit for the fastest lap to take the point away from their rivals.
In their statement, F1 mentioned that these practices had made it a “controversial” topic. Hence, they decided to get rid of the point.
“Sometimes that meant drivers would still be pushing late on trying to take the accolade, or even make late pit stops for fresh rubber to increase their return,” the statement read (via MotorsportWeek). “But it also opened up the possibility for a car outside the top 10 to pit and take the point away from another driver, even if they weren’t going to score themselves. And with the bonus sometimes proving a controversial topic, the decision was taken to remove it from the scoring system this year.”
A driver can only score a maximum of 25 points in a race ever since the accolade has been removed. This was one of the major changes introduced for the 2025 season last year, and F1 still stands by it.
