Formula 1 will scrap the rule that enables drivers to earn points setting the fastest lap during a Grand Prix.
The bonus point has been awarded since the 2019 season as a way to spice up the action and give drivers who are inside the top 10 a chance to race for something extra.
In later years it unlocked strategy options for teams to try and deny their rivals the extra point, while also running outside the top ten. This is what happened when Daniel Ricciardo did the same to steal the fastest lap point from Lando Norris during the Singapore Grand Prix.
It also fell largely on drivers who had built up a big enough gap behind them to pit for a set of soft tyres, and then put in a banker lap towards the end of a race.
With F1 set to scrap it from 2025, former driver Christian Fittipaldi has discussed one rule he would like to see it exchanged for when speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast.
Christian Fittipaldi wants points for qualifying in Formula 1
The qualifying margins in F1 are getting smaller each season as the teams converge on performance, with teams from the back of the grid now getting a shot at making it into Q3.
Fernando Alonso made Q3 16 times, more than any other driver from the bottom six teams, while Alex Albon also managed to reach it on eight occasions.
Fittipaldi thinks F1 should start to award points for qualifying inside the top 10 positions: “It’s a lot more sense to award the point for pole position than fastest lap, maybe even the top 10 places but I don’t know if that’s fair.
“But then that would be an incentive, even for the smaller teams, to try and make Q3. But it makes a lot more sense to award points for qualifying than in the race.”
F1 rule change set for 2025 that could impact McLaren
F1 will make changes to the DRS rules for 2025 which will see it reduce the minimum gap in the closed rear wing to 13.4 millimetres.
They also stipulated that the rear wing can only have two settings – open and shut. The wing must also return to, and remain in, its original form at the end of the DRS zone.
READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine
The change will impact McLaren negatively the most, as they were caught using a trick ‘Mini DRS’ wing at last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix leading to it being banned by the FIA at the next race.
Footage showed that there was movement into the bodywork in the upper flap when DRS was not enabled, effectively enabling them to improve their straight-line speed.
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