Charles Leclerc has led the charge in support of F1’s decision to eliminate the fastest lap bonus point, claiming it “wasn’t really rewarding a particular skill.”
After introducing a single bonus point for completing the fastest lap of the race in 2019, the FIA has decided to remove it for the 2025 season.
The announcement of the decision to do so came just after RB driver Daniel Ricciardo took the bonus point off Lando Norris in Singapore, allowing Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen to keep a bigger title advantage, but the drivers have generally been in support of the decision.
Leclerc said it was not a reward for a skill but instead dependent on fortune.
“I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Leclerc said to media including PlanetF1.com. “Honestly, I’ve always felt like this point was very superficial, because it always depends on your race situation and it wasn’t really rewarding a particular skill in a way, because it was more about finding yourself in a lucky position where you call pit stop and do that fastest lap.
“So I think it’s good that it’s been taken off.”
George Russell was another who supported the move, remarking that he always thought the bonus point was “a bit pointless.”
“It would always be the driver who was having a tough race in the top 10 would pit, put new tyres on, and gain the extra point,” Russell said. “So I never really saw the benefit of that so sort of glad to see that that’s gone.”
Carlos Sainz said in similar terms, implying that it will not go to the one who is the fastest.
“I always was of the opinion that it was a not-needed point in the points system of Formula 1, mainly because of how it is achieved,” he said. “Right now, that point goes to the one that has a free pit stop one lap to the end of the race.
“So it’s not showing who is the fastest guy in the race, and he deserves one point for being the fastest guy.
“It’s a point that goes to the guy that by chance or by luck or by race situation has a free pit stop at some point of the race.”
Sainz proposed an alternative: give a point to the driver on pole.
“Pole position is something that, at least in Formula 1, is given a lot of value,” Sainz, who has qualified on pole six times in his career, said.
“Qualifying is something that media people keep a lot of importance to know and obviously as drivers in qualifying, we like being the fastest because it shows you’ve maybe have done the cleanest lap. You’ve taken maybe more risks. You’ve put everything on the line to go on pole. And a point for that in a tight field makes sense.
“In a field where only one car is going to get all the pole positions makes less sense. But in the ideal scenario of a tight field and one guy going for it in qualifying and getting that pole position, I think it could make more sense than the fastest lap of the race.”
