The harsh, cold reality of double points in Abu Dhabi or Double-Dhabi as they call it is starting to sink in prompting team bosses to conceivably ask, “my gosh…what have we done”?
Fans were outraged by the notion of attributing double points for the last race of the season. IT didn’t take a big imagination to see how this could really impact a Formula 1 season and we’ve been suggesting all season that this may be a year where the champion is eternally labeled with a mental asterisk and that’s not fair.
Teams approved the idea and now they seem befuddled to the entire notion with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff lamenting the decision. You could understand why he might as he has an intra-team battle raging between two drivers who make the title chase down to the last race only to be scuppered by the double points.
Wolff isn’t the only one crunching numbers and starting to realize the potential cost as Force India boss Vijay Mallya has told AUTOSPORT:
“Right now Mercedes and Red Bull are somewhat way ahead – Mercedes certainly, but if you look from third to sixth in the constructors’ [championship] there’s Williams, Ferrari, Force India and McLaren and we’re all pretty tightly bunched up,” Mallya said.
“There are still eight races to go, and the last one [for] double points.
“Even if we go away from Brazil in third or fourth position and say “wow! What a season!” everything could come to naught in Abu Dhabi.
“Once again I don’t understand the logic of this.”
We don’t understand the logic either, Vijay, and had we had the opportunity to vote on the issue, we’d have said no but apparently you and your peers approved this only now to lament it. It’s not the way to go racing as you have Half Prix’s and now Double-Dhabi’s.
I wouldn’t want to be F1’s head shed if Lewis leads into the final race only to be scuttled by a few points and the title goes to Nico. I wouldn’t want to be Nico winning by a few points only to have a mental asterisk next to my championship either. Of course this example is reversible…don’t want you Hamilton fans to get mad at me.
