In 2019, Formula 1 introduced a bonus point for the driver who sets the fastest lap at each race (1 point for the driver, 1 point for the constructor). They added some conditions, the point would only be given to a driver in the top 10 - if someone outside the top 10 sets the fastest lap, no point is awarded. That struck me as unfair because it's down amongst the bottom half of the constructors’ championship where that extra point will count at the end of the season, especially when it comes to the money given to the teams.
That's part of the problem, the idea seemed to have been to encourage the teams to do something in the often dead last quarter of the race, when the interesting part of the race is over because the cars are too wide to allow overtaking at most tracks and there's no more pitstops to permit over/under cuts. Having cars come in for fresh tyres towards the end of the race to aim for the fastest lap point is supposed to increase interest, rather than being a bad sign that there's enough distance between cars to allow for a pitstop without a loss of place. But at the same time, they didn't want it to have too big an effect, because we'd never hear the end of it if someone won the World title purely because of fastest lap points.
Overall, I doubt adding fastest lap changes that much (and everyone knows how I feel about pointless changes) so I decided to go through the last 10 years’ worth of results (okay 11, because this happened in 2019, and I'm only writing this in 2020) and see if it does change anything. For 2009-2018, would adding fastest lap points change either the drivers’ or constructors’ standings at the end of the season, for 2019 and 2020, would removing them change anything. Because there'll be a lot of numbers, I'm putting them in separate posts and linking to them at various points.
Before anyone else says anything about them, yes there are caveats. Before fastest lap points became a thing, drivers may not have bothered to go for fastest laps because they were worth nothing (except bragging rights, and bragging rights should never be underestimated), therefore it is a slightly artificial experiment.
The results
2009 (link to results here). To no-one’s surprise, Mark Webber was one of the first drivers who wouldn’t have got a fastest lap because of finishing outside the top 10. He finished outside the top 10 when he was fastest at the Japanese Grand Prix. The shock is that the perpetually cursed-with-bad-luck Webber was not the first person this happened to, no, that would have been Timo Glock at the European Grand Prix. Nine different drivers (ten if you want to count Glock) different drivers, driving for seven different constructors, would have gained points.
There would be no changes to the standings in the constructors’ title, and only 16th and 17th place would swap in the drivers’ standings.
For 2010 (link here), three races would have had no fastest lap point awarded. Six different drivers (or seven counting Petrov who didn’t finish in the top 10 when he set the fastest lap at the Turkish Grand Prix) for four manufacturers would have received fastest lap points. There would have been no changes to either the Drivers’ or Constructors’ Championship standings.
2011 (link here) would have been the first season that a fastest lap point would have been awarded at each grand prix, because all the people who set fastest laps finished in the top 10 of each particular race. Six drivers for three teams would have won fastest lap points. However, it would have had no effect on final standings.
2012 (link here) was much more of a mixed bag. Four races would not have seen fastest lap points awarded because the person who set the fastest lap either didn’t finish in the top ten or didn’t finish at all. Even with that, 8 drivers from 5 teams would have won fastest lap points (the unawarded ones raises that to 12 drivers and 7 teams). This makes no difference to the Constructors’ Championship, but does cause a small movement in the Drivers’ Championship. In the real world, Lewis Hamilton finished in 4th on 190 points, with Jenson Button finishing in 5th on 188 points. In our counter-factual universe, where fastest lap points are awarded, Hamilton won none of these (the one race where he set a fastest lap, he did not finish), Button won two, and therefore, they are tied on 190 points. It then goes to count back. Both drivers won three races, but Button’s next best finish, 2nd, is better than Hamilton’s next best, 3rd. Therefore, Button move into 4th and Hamilton is knocked down to 5th.
There are no changes due to the award of fastest lap point in 2013 (link here). All but one race would have seen a point awarded (Esteban Gutierrez unluckily finishing in 11th at the Spanish Grand Prix). Six drivers from five teams would have won fastest lap point (seven from six teams if Gutierrez had been luckier). However, nothing would have changed in the Constructors’ or Drivers’ Championships.
2014, or the year of the silly attempt to add excitement by awarding double points. (Is it really 6 years since I wrote about that nonsense? I didn’t like it then, and I am glad they got rid of it.) If fastest lap points had been awarded in 2014 according to the rules now in use, nothing would have changed with the final positions, 17 out of the 19 races would have seen points awarded, for 6 drivers from 4 teams.
If points had been awarded to all drivers who set a fastest lap, regardless of final position, something would have changed. Kimi Räikkönen was one of the two drivers who set fastest laps, but would not have been awarded a point because he finished outside the top 10 (at the Monaco Grand Prix in his case). If he had been awarded a point, he would have leapt into 11th place in the drivers’ championship, ahead of Kevin Magnussen, but since the point wouldn’t have been awarded, this is another season where the fastest lap points would have changed nothing. Full details here.
Fewer drivers would have won fastest lap points in 2015 (link here), with only 5 drivers for 3 different teams setting fastest laps. While this doesn’t change anything in the constructors’ championship, fastest lap points would have moved Daniel Ricciardo up to 7th place in the drivers’ championship, ahead of Daniil Kvyat. With the addition of fastest lap points, Ricciardo and Kvyat would have the same number of points, and, although their best result is the same (one second place each), Ricciardo’s next best result is better than Kvyat’s next best result (a third place vs a fourth).
Two races in 2016 would not have seen points awarded, with Nico Hülkenberg missing out due to finishing 15th at the Chinese Grand Prix, and Fernando Alonso missing out due to finishing 14th at the Italian Grand Prix. Fastest lap points would have been awarded to seven drivers from four teams (it would have been nine drivers from six teams if points were awarded no matter the finishing position). There are no changes in the drivers’ or constructors’ championships, and the only thing the fastest lap point would have done would be to increase the gap between Rosberg and Hamilton at the end of the season. Full details here.
Seven drivers would have received fastest lap points (it would have been eight but Sergio Perez finished in 13th at the Monaco Grand Prix), for four different constructors (would have been five if Perez had been given the point) in 2017. There would have been no changes to the constructors’ or drivers’ championships (details here).
In the 2018 season, two races would not have seen points awarded, Valtteri Bottas finished in 14th at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while Kevin Magnussen finished in 18th at the Singapore Grand Prix. Personally, I say if somehow, anyone manages to get a Haas to be the fastest car of a race, they ought to receive a point, but that’s not what the rules state. Adding fastest laps does not change anything in the constructors’ Championship. In the drivers’s championship, Bottas would have moved into 3rd from 5th, with Verstappen narrowly missing out on passing Räikkönen for what would now be 4th. (Full details here)
This was the year where Force India had to reconstitute themselves mid-season. Fastest lap points do not change either of their positions. Obviously, if both “Force India”s points were added together, they race up the constructors’ championship but adding fastest lap points wouldn’t change that amalgamated table either.
Now we come to the second half of this accidental natural experiment, 2019 and 2020, years in which fastest lap points were awarded. For these two seasons the question is, will positions change with fastest lap points removed.
2019 – Six drivers from three teams won fastest lap points, both members of the three big teams. Two races didn’t see fastest lap points, because Kevin Magnussen finished in 17th at the Singapore Grand Prix and Bottas DNF at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Again, I would like to state my policy that if anyone manages to get a Haas to be the fastest car of a race, they ought to receive a point (although giving Magnussen that point wouldn’t have changed anything in the drivers’ championship). (Details here)
2020 was a weird season in a weird year. Fastest driver points were awarded in all 17 Grand Prix. They were awarded to 7 drivers across 4 teams (details here). Removing fastest lap points makes no difference to the Constructor’s title (don’t look at the constructors table, it is a thing of horror for all Ferrari fans). In the Drivers’s championship, removal of the fastest lap points would move Albon ahead of Carlos Sainz jnr, but I am not sure that would have saved his seat, Red Bull being what they are.
Conclusion:
So, what have we established? At no point did adding or removing fastest lap points change the standings in the Constructors’ Championship.
0/129 placings.
0%.
Zero.
Zulu. Echo. Romeo. Oscar.
[add in other languages, as applicable]
This established, let's look at the Drivers’ Championship: 11 drivers would have changed the finishing position with the addition or removal of fastest lap points (11/284 = 3.9%).
However, none of these changes would affect who won the title, and since I’m not party to individual contracts; I don’t know if anyone would have made some extra money or if anyone missed out on some cash.
Mostly, this has been a change that affected nothing, but why is this? Partly it’s the small size of the “fastest lap bonus”: a single point compared to the 25 points for a win.
I think they made it deliberately small so it wouldn’t affect the big things like the Drivers’ championship, but it’s so small that it doesn’t affect anything in the Constructors Standings (where money is more obviously at stake).
While I disapprove of change for change's sake; I don’t think those in charge will get rid of the fastest lap point in the short term because it gives the appearance of excitement, gives the commentators something to talk about in the dead space after the pitstops.
I’d rather they tweak the rules to give spectators more exciting racing; but I don’t think I’m getting that any time soon either.
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