WDC Championship 2012 standings "by the" traditional scoring system

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As an F1 fan I lived many, many years used to a scoring system that only gave points to the first 6 in each GP. This system was applied non-stop for 43 seasons, from 1960 up to 2002, with the only difference in points per finishing position being about how many points 1st place got (8, then 9, then 10), like this:

1960 - 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1
1961-1990 - 9, 6,4, 3, 2, 1
1991 - 2002 - 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1


from 1961 onwards being the good old 9,6,4,3,2,1 points system, later slightly revised to give 10 points for a win, this revision lasting another 12 years (1991-2002).

I will consider, for the purpose of this thread, the most lasting scoring system ever in the history of F1, the 30 year-running 9-6-4-3-2-1.

And if I apply it to the current season I get interesting results. I know things tend to "normalize" with each Grand Prix and in the end all F1 scoring systems to date give out very similar results. However, with too much time on my hands probably :p I did this comparison work and found it interesting enough to publish and share here.

Here goes:
2012 STANDINGS - CURRENT SCORING SYSTEM
Code:
[SIZE="3"]Pos	  Driver               	  AUS	MAL	CHN	BAH		Total
1	  Sebastian Vettel	  2	11	5	1       	53
2	  Lewis Hamilton	  3	3	3	8		49
3	  Mark Webber     	  4	4	4	4		48
4	  Jenson Button    	  1	14	2	18		43
5	  Fernando Alonso	  5	1	9	7		43
6	  Nico Rosberg     	  12	13	1	5		35
7	  Kimi Räikkönen	  7	5	14	2		34
8	  Romain Grosjean	  Ret	Ret	6	3		23
9	  Sergio Pérez      	  8	2	11	11		22
10	  Paul di Resta     	  10	7	12	6		15
11	  Bruno Senna      	  16	6	7	22		14
12	  Kamui Kobayashi	  6	Ret	10	14		9
13	  Jean-Éric Vergne	  11	8	16	13     		4
14	  Pastor Maldonado	  13	19	8	23       	4
15	  Daniel Ricciardo	  9	12	17	15		2
16	  Nico Hülkenberg	  Ret	9	15	12		2
17	  Felipe Massa      	  Ret	15	13	9		2
18	  Michael Schumacher	  Ret	10	Ret	10		2[/SIZE]

2012 STANDINGS - 1961-1990 SCORING SYSTEM
Code:
[SIZE="3"]Pos	  Driver               	  AUS	MAL	CHN	BAH		Total
1	  Sebastian Vettel	  2	11	5	1       	17
[COLOR="Green"]2	  Jenson Button    	  1	14	2	18		15[/COLOR]
[COLOR="Red"]3	  Lewis Hamilton	  3	3	3	8		12
4	  Mark Webber     	  4	4	4	4		12[/COLOR]
5	  Fernando Alonso	  5	1	9	7		11
6	  Nico Rosberg     	  12	13	1	5		11
7	  Kimi Räikkönen	  7	5	14	2		8
[COLOR="Green"]8	  Sergio Pérez      	  8	2	11	11		6[/COLOR]
[COLOR="Red"]9	  Romain Grosjean	  Ret	Ret	6	3		5[/COLOR]
10	  Paul di Resta     	  10	7	12	6		1
11	  Bruno Senna      	  16	6	7	22		1
12	  Kamui Kobayashi	  6	Ret	10	14		1
[/SIZE]

So ... after the Bahraini GP, the traditional system would:

- Place Button in 2nd place, in front of Hamilton and Webber

- Place Perez in front of Grosjean

- Only award points (so far) to 12 drivers, instead of the current 18
 
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Goes to show, the current system doesn't reward the drivers for a win, like it did.
 
I like that a driver is rewarded for consistencey over just straight winning. Look at Button v Hamilton - Hamilton has consistently been on the podium and therefore over 3 races has had a better season so far. Why should Button be ahead with 1 win and a 14th just because we think winners should matter the most?

I think the fact championships are decided by points over several races breed the need to be consistent and hence I like that nowadays the points reflect this better than in the past.

However, I don't want to see the points extend any further past 10th. Its never going to be realistic for grid sizes to go much over 26~28 cars at most and so there will never really be much need for points to go past 10th. I'm happy with them going to 10th at the moment because the cars are so reliable and field is so very very tight in performance.

Not to mention I'm a fan of making points systems as simple as possible to make it easier for spectators to work the maths out themselves. Makes it a bit more exciting when you know the points differences in your head and the potential results as they happen. Now we have such a big difference in points and larger numbers to remember, its harder to really keep track of the WDC or WCC points.

Before, I could watch say Webber and Rosberg scrapping over 6th place and know that 6th is worth 4 points and that Webber has 10 points and Rosberg has 9 so I could easily work out what the resulting WDC standing would be if they finished in 6th or better. Nowadays its a little harder as its harder to memorise so many extra driver's points and the numbers involved are much bigger.

BTCC nowadays is even worse for this now it has points down to 15th place. Don't even get me started on the "points for everyone" style in NASCAR and Indycar.
 
Sorry, but I think this is completely pointless, and you've wasted your time. History will remember the championship based on the points system used at the time. It won't care about what might have happened with an older points system.
 
@ Ardius - I also think that awarding points up to 10th is a good idea because with cars being so reliable nowadays the odd "top six" entry by a backmarker is no longer happening (ex-Lotus/Caterham is a good example of this). However, I think a slight increase of points would be enough, with a system based on the old ones and evolved to something like
12-10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

but whatever, I don't really care. As for a reward of consistency over wins, I think we both agree that some balance must be reached. Both are the result of qualities that GP drivers must have in equal measure. If you remember 1984 (by reading about it :D ), Lauda won his last WDC not by being the fastest but by being "always up there" and, when Prost failed, by getting the odd win. When Prost won, he would be second. When Prost retired, he would be winner (not always but you get my point).

@prisonermonkeys: I certainly didn't waste my time, in fact I had fun doing this comparison and did it without thinking about gtplanet (or in posting it). I don't want to reach any conclusion from it, and onl posted it here because iI found it curious and interesting the result I got.

(if I posted in gtplanet all sorts of "pointless" exercises and "what if" scenarios I do about F1 seasons you guys would be asking for me to get banned out of here LOL )
 
Sorry, but I think this is completely pointless, and you've wasted your time. History will remember the championship based on the points system used at the time. It won't care about what might have happened with an older points system.

I thought it was quite an interesting comparison, certainly has more point than a thread about Vettel winning a race this year.
 
I'd be pretty happy with that lowered points system Hun. 👍 Its an interesting problem/choice appearing in motorsports lately as we look to more reliable and 'greener' series with larger grid numbers. Keeping the points simple but also trying to at least reward getting half way up the field is a difficult balance and I don't envy any series trying to find its way.

Funnily enough its an issue which hasn't really affected online racing so much, perhaps because its rare to have 10+ drivers who are as fast as each other (even on this site!) but generally most online series seem to get on ok using equivelant points systems (F1 1st-8th or 1st-10th seem to work well enough). Then again online racing only involves the participants and doesn't include any spectators or fans really.

Sorry, but I think this is completely pointless, and you've wasted your time. History will remember the championship based on the points system used at the time. It won't care about what might have happened with an older points system.

You really are no fun, eh?
 
Sorry, but I think this is completely pointless, and you've wasted your time. History will remember the championship based on the points system used at the time. It won't care about what might have happened with an older points system.

You could say the same about famines thread, his being even more pointless because his system was never used in motorsport, where as the system in this thread was.

I personally found this quite interesting just to compare, and it interesting to think about how different driving styles (do or die for the win, or be cautious to not lose a position you are in.) would be more suitable in different era's of F1.
 
Sorry, but I think this is completely pointless, and you've wasted your time. History will remember the championship based on the points system used at the time. It won't care about what might have happened with an older points system.

What possessed you to think that was necessary?

Nice job Hun btw.👍
 
I personally would find it very interesting to see how the older championships would've played out had they all used the current points system. Particularly including all the race results, rather than a select few.

[Disclaimer]Obviously it would serve no actual purpose, as what is history is history, but it would be interesting.[/Disclaimer]
 
I wonder if the results using the older championship system would be the same at the end of the year than the current ones. If the first 3 races are anything to go by, I assume not.
 
@prisonermonkeys

There is a whole lot of pointless threads in this forum...do you waste your time letting everyone one know those threads are a waste of time too....?????

I think points systems need to reflect the nature of the series. In the current era the cars are very reliable. A points system needed to change to reflect the high quality of engineering and reap sponsorship through WC points. So the 10 spot system was born.

A good thing although, I feel the winner should be rewarded more. The old system gave the winner 40% more points than 2nd. The current gives 28%.

Consistency gives more reward now, in an era where almost all the cars finish most races. This seems far more relevant than winning. Given the current, (hypothetical) situation, if Hamilton would score 3rd in every race, 15 x 20= 300 points. Button wins 7 races, 25 x 7=175 and places 2nd in 6, 18 x 6= 108 and fails to score in 7. Gives him 283 points. Button beats Hamilton 2/3rds of the time yet loses the championship. I think each system has its pros and cons. It just seems at the end of a season, if I was Button under this possibility, I would feel hard done by.
 
Zed, I think Hammy would feel hard done by, always coming third but never winning a race!

The World Championship would obviously be an icing on the cake but to go through a season and not win a race would be a bit... well, hollow for someone of Hammy's personality.
 
I think the record here belongs to Keke Rosberg, he achieved his WDC in the most troubled 1982 season by winning only one race.

But of course, there are many tales to tell about 1982 and for those that followed F1 back then, Keke's drives with that litle Williams-Ford against the might of the Turbos from Ferrari, from Renault and from Brabham (BMW) were legendary. He was never regarded as a lesser champion because of his litle number of wins (5, lol, some guys do more than that in a single season and don't get to be WDC)
 
I believe Mike Hawthorn also only won one race during his Championship year.

Alain Prost (twice), Kimi Raikkonen, and Michael Schumacher all won 7 races in a season without being crowned Champion that year :lol:
 
but whatever, I don't really care. As for a reward of consistency over wins, I think we both agree that some balance must be reached. Both are the result of qualities that GP drivers must have in equal measure.

That balance is what our current point system has given. It's taken two drivers, one with consistent podium finishes but no win and the other with a win, another podium, but also a poor finish, and made them essentially equal. 45 and 43 points aren't technically identical but they're awful close. It's basically looking at their performances and saying, "Well Button, on the one hand you've won a race and also finished in second, but you've also had a lousy result. Hamilton, you haven't won yet, but you've done consistently well. You're equal."
 
Its certainly interesting to look at. Will you be updating this as the season progresses?
 
I prefer today's system, I think it's because more people score points and that consistency is also rewarded.
 
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