A point for pole instead? F1 drivers react to fastest lap bonus axe for 2025

Carlos Sainz believes handing a single point out for pole position would “make more sense” than for the fastest lap after the FIA made a rule change for F1 2025.

Ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, the FIA announced that the point for fastest lap rule would be scrapped for the 2025 F1 season.

Since 2019, drivers who have classified the top 10 and set the fastest lap of the race have been awarded an additional point in the championship standings.

Typically, the fight for the fastest lap has often been down to which of the leading drivers has a pit stop behind and thus allowed to change to fresh rubber.

The decision to scrap the rule came as a surprise, but talk of the fastest lap point was a hot talking point in Singapore after Daniel Ricciardo stole it off Lando Norris, aiding Max Verstappen’s title bid.

Speaking in Austin on Thursday, Sainz backed the move by the FIA.

“I was always of the opinion of it being a not-needed point in the points system of Formula 1,” he explained. “Mainly because of how it’s achieved right now. Right now that point goes to the one that has a free pit stop one lap before the end of the race.

“It’s not showing who is the fastest guy in the race and he deserves one point for being the fastest guy. It’s a point that goes to the guy by chance or by luck or by race situation and has a free pit stop at some point of the race. Not always but in a lot of occasions most of the time.”

Sainz feels that a point for pole would be more sensible, particularly given the value placed on qualifying.

“Pole position is something that at least in F1 is given a lot of value,” he added. “Qualifying is something that the media, people, give a lot of importance to. Obviously, us drivers, in qualifying, like being the fastest because it shows you’ve maybe done the cleanest lap.

“You’ve maybe taken more risks, put everything on the line to go on pole. A point for that in a tight field makes sense. In a field where only one car is going to get all the pole positions, makes less sense.

“In the ideal scenario of a tight field and one guy going for it in qualifying, and getting that pole position, I think it could make more sense than the fastest lap for the race.”

Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon agreed: “For us drivers being on pole, it’s something very important to us, to all of you guys as well. It’s something that we put a lot of effort into.

“It’s very rewarding. In the race, we race to win. You don’t necessarily race to be fastest on one lap. I never thought that it was a good thing to have one point for the race. For pole position, it would be much more rewarding and that’s something I would prefer.”

Giving his view from the midfield at Haas, Kevin Magnussen said: “Not a whole lot to add. From the perspective of a midfield team, it’s very rarely on our mind. If we’re in the top 10, even if you’re P6, P7, it’s very rare you will have a pit stop gap. For us, it’s never been relevant.”

On the other hand, Lando Norris said he didn’t know why the change has been made as he “liked how it is now”.

Norris said: “I have no idea. I don't know why they've done it.I kind of liked how it is now. I mean, you know, there's an opportunity to go for something else.

“Sometimes you pay the price for risking such a thing, and it's always been a risk in certain scenarios. if your pit stop goes wrong, you know, different reasons.

“The thing is, if it's such a case, then it's like we had in Singapore or something like that. that's repetitive, then I think it's the correct thing to do. But I don't know. I don't feel like they should change it just because of people questioning it after Singapore. So I don't know. It's got nothing to do with me. It was all a team manager thing. So yeah, it's got nothing to do with us.”