Ecclestone explained how the system would work. After each race, only the Top 3 drivers will get to be counted in the overall classification, while awarded the gold, silver and bronze medals. At the end of the season, the driver holding the most gold medals should become world champion. In case of a tie, silver medals would also count (and so would the bronze medals, in case the tie would also extend to silver).
“It will make Formula One a much more exciting spectacle because it will incentivise drivers to race to win. We should see much more overtaking, drivers will take more chances and they will race each other all the way to the chequered flag.”
“At the moment, quite often we see drivers settling for second, third or fourth position, and the race can be dull in the final stint after the last round of pit stops. The drivers aren’t to blame, they’re racers, but the scoring system forces them to be too conservative. As things are, if they want to take the title, it is better to settle for a few, safe points rather than chase down the guy in front and risk going home with no points,” said Ecclestone.
He argued that, despite being a worthy champion, Lewis Hamilton won this year's title winning less races than Felipe Massa. Also, the season finale lost most of the fans' interest because Hamilton was not forced to go for the win, but for 5th place.
“The only thing I was uncomfortable about was that under the current system Lewis needed to finish only fifth in the last race to win the title and I don’t think the fans go to races or switch on their TV to watch a great driver aim for fifth place. The want to see the best drivers in the world battling hard for a race win,” added the F1 supreme.
However, Bernie doesn't think the medal system should be introduced in the manufacturers' race, as points are a big coordinate in terms of championship funding at the end of each season.
“No, I think we should keep that as it is, awarding points for places 1 to 8 as we do now. For the teams, constructor points are purely a financial matter as they determine a team’s share of the annual prize fund. Fighting for a point or two really matters to the teams further down the grid and I don’t see any reason to change that,” concluded Bernie.
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