Fastest lap bonus points back in F1

The extra point was last awarded between 1950-1959 but will only he handed out if the driver is classified in the top 10 and will be added on to the Drivers’ and the Constructors’ Championship tables.

“How many times have we heard the drivers on the radio ask the team about who holds the fastest lap?” F1’s Managing Director Ross Brawn said in a statement.

“Now it will no longer be only a matter of record and prestige, but there will be a concrete motivation that will make the final part of the race even more interesting,” he added.

A Grand Prix winner currently gets 25 points with 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and one for the subsequent places.

Back in 1958, when only the top five finishers scored points but the fastest lap timer did too, Mike Hawthorn beat Stirling Moss to the title by a single point having twice won points for a fastest lap

The proposal was approved in a vote by F1’s Strategy Group as well as it’s Commission and will be revived in this weekend’s opening race of the season held in Melbourne.