Formula One have confirmed a shock rule change the 2025 season.
The current F1 season is fast approaching a conclusion with Max Verstappen currently leading the driver’s championship ahead of Lando Norris.
McLaren’s recent success has saw them over Red Bull in the constructors standings and Norris is hoping to continue his late charge in the hopes of beating Verstappen to the title.
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Verstappen currently leads by 52 points ahead of the United States Grand Prix but Norris had reduced his lead by 26 points in the last four races.
With just six races until the completion of the 2024, a new rule has already been introduced for next season and could drastically impact the sport.
The World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) met on Thursday and laid out some regulatory changes for the 2025 season and confirmed drivers would no longer be awarded a championship point for achieving the fastest lap of the race.
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The rule was introduced in 2019, and awarded the driver with the fastest lap of the Grand Prix with an additional point if said driver finished in the top 10. If the driver with the fastest lap finished outside the top 10, no points would be awarded.
Drivers with a large enough gap to the car behind them could pit for fresh tyres in the hopes of gaining the extra point and teammates could do the same in order to take the point away from rival teams.
This rule came under the microscope recently when Daniel Ricciardo managed to take a fastest lap point away from Norris at the Singapore GP to help out RB’s sister team Red Bull.
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McLaren racing CEO Zak Brown raised concerns over the tactic.
He told Sirius XM: ""That’s a nice A/B team sporting thing that I didn’t think was allowed… But hey, that’s not the first time we’ve seen it, probably won’t be the last.
“I’ll certainly ask some questions. It’s something I’ve spoken about in the past and I think it illustrates that it does happen because I think you wouldn’t have made that pit stop to go for that. It’s not going to get anyone a point, so I think it does illustrate the issue around that topic.”
As well as the removal of the extra point, F1 teams will also be forced to field rookie drivers in four FP1 sessions during the season, an increase from the two-session minimum introduced for 2024.
Topics: Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, McLaren, Formula 1
Marcus Banks