Medal System Could Have Reigned 3 NEW F1 Champions

Despite its president not agreeing much with the Ecclestone-acclaimed medal system, the International Automobile Federation decided to publish an interesting report on how the new system would have changed the hierarchies if introduced from the sport's very beginnings.

Weeks before Christmas, F1 supreme Bernie Ecclestone made an interesting proposal to the FIA, urging for the existing point system to be replaced by an Olympic-style medal one. Under the new rules, only the Top 3 finishers would have received medals after each race – gold, silver and bronze, accordingly.

At the end of the season, the driver with the most gold medals in his pocket would become the new world champion. Should two drivers finish the season with the same number of gold medals, the championship crown would go to the one having the most silver medals (and so on). The idea behind the new system was that the driver who has won more races throughout the season should deserve to be world champion.

Last year, Ferrari's Felipe Massa had won more races than Lewis Hamilton, but had to settle for 2nd overall due to a one-point deficit.

Following the report issued by the FIA, it results that Formula One should have had 3 new world champions (Stirling Moss in 1958, Didier Pironi in 1982 and Felipe Massa in 2008), only 22 of the 59 World Championships to date would have the same Top 3 and the world champion would have been altered no less than 13 times.

For the complete results of the report, you can visit FIA's official web site or download the file below.