F1 | FIA World Motor Sports Council sets new rules to assign the points on Sprint and short races, "structural changes" to be announced following Abu Dhabi controversy
A meeting in London took place to set new adjustments on Sprint races and short races, as well as the ongoing Abu Dhabi saga.
The FIA just finished their meeting in London to discuss the Abu Dhabi controversy and set new rules for the season, the first attended by newly-elected FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
On the topic of Abu Dhabi, structural changes and an action plan will be released publicly in the coming days. It remains to be seen if Michael Masi loses the Race Director position following the controversial ending to the race in the UAE and the championship implications it had.
"[The] FIA President led detailed discussions of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Feedback from the Commission on matters raised will be incorporated into the President’s analysis and he will publicly present news of structural changes and action plan in the coming days," said the FIA in a statement.
There will be a 23-race season to break all the previous records. Some things are going to remain like in 2021, just like the budget cap for Sprint races and the number of the ones introduced into the new season. There will be three Sprint events - now just called “Sprint”, in Emilia Romagna GP, Austrian GP and Brazilian GP.
However, a few changes will be introduced. The world championship valid points will be awarded this way: eight for the leader, 7 to the second, and so on, continuing with one point less until eighth who only gets one point.
Moreover, the pole man will be who ends up fastest on Friday.
The 2021 Belgian GP required some adjustments to short races. In 2022, to be considered valid, a race should be made by two laps completed by the leader without the intervention of a safety car, both real or virtual. If the leader completes the 25% percent of the overall race, the points are going to be given 6 to the first, four to the second and then 3 to the third placed, 2 to the fourth classified and 1 to the 5th.
If the percentage of the race completed is from 25% to 50% , the points will be given from a maximum of 13 to a minimum of 1.
Let’s consider now the case of a “long-but-short” race , which is made from 50-75%. In this occasion, the number of points awarded will be almost complete. The winner will get 19 points, followed up by 14 for the runner-up and 12 to the third-placed. The points will be given until one single point for the tenth placed.
