So, how does one select a winner? If you’re a formula 1 fan, you think the guy who wins most races in a season wins it. Well, not quite so.
F1 racing works on a controversial points system which seems to be biased on making the sport more competitive, more interesting and hence more appealing to the viewers and fans. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying making a sport more competitive is bad. In fact as a viewer its great. You’re making races closer than ever, the balance of championship goes till the last race and its good for the sport (with more sponsers, ticket sales, etc).
However, I think the new system is not as fair as it should be. Because the drivers in the second and third places are not too far away from the race winner in terms of points, its not necessary that the guy who won the most number of races in an year would win the title, as the 2008 season showed us.
So, here are the facts. I took the standings from all of the 18 races, recorded the standings of the first 8 drivers and teams (for constructor’s standings), and calculated the final points tally with the old and the new system. So first, here is the results table (click on the image to view the spreadsheet on Google docs):
2008 Race Results
So, here is the calculation of points based on the current points system (click on the image to view the spreadsheet on Google docs):
2008 Standings - Current Points System
As you can see, Hamilton won this championship by one point. But here is the problem, Hamilton has won less number of races that Massa in 2008. The points difference is 10, which he made up by finishing higher in other places more number of times. Now, I’m not saying the FIA conceived a devious plan at the end of 2002 to ensure Hamilton wins the 2008 season and becomes “the first black driver to win a championship in Formula One” (wikipedia, not me) and the youngest ever champion.
How does the points tally look if we use the system in existence prior to 2003, here it is:
2008 Standings - Old Points System Prior to 2002
As you can see, Massa wins this one by three points. Now, how does the points tally looks if we use an older system which was in existance during 1985-1990. Here is it:
2008 Old Points 1985-1990
So, what do intend to prove? Not that Hamilton is not a deserved winner, not that F1 is unfair. I conclude that no system is perfect, and FIA instated this system to ensure the sport is more competitive but not not not perfect.
Vamsi Krishna Duvvuri
MBA Class of 2009
Goizueta Business School
