Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1091272
31 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2019 SPORTS FORMULA 1 FORMULA 1 is set to change its scoring system this year by giv- ing a point to the driver who sets the fastest lap in a grand prix. The move is part of a bid to make F1 more appealing and in- crease audiences. Bosses of F1 discussed the idea after fan surveys threw it up as one of many proposals that might add extra interest to races. It is expected to be officially confirmed before the season- opening race in Australia next weekend. The move has been approved by the FIA's world motor sport council (WMSC), a key legisla- tive body, but still needs to be signed off by two further bodies - the strategy group of leading teams, F1 and FIA, and the F1 Commission, a body on which the FIA, teams, sponsors and cir- cuits have representation. The driver with the fastest lap will only be awarded the point if he also finishes in the top 10. Approval is expected to be a formality, especially as the idea was initially discussed by the strategy group and approved be- fore going to the WMSC. It will be the first time a point has been awarded for the fastest lap since the first decade of the F1 World Championship be- tween 1950-59. The feeling is that the change might add extra interest towards the end of a race, when the ac- tion can tend to die down fol- lowing the conclusion of all the pit stops. Bosses accept there could be negatives to the idea - such as a championship being decided by a fastest-lap point, or a title con- tender's team-mate, who is not in championship contention, setting a fastest lap to disadvan- tage a rival from another team. But the feeling was that all teams and drivers would be aware of this issue and any of them could choose to take ac- tion. The idea was one of many that were put to fans in surveys con- ducted by F1 last year. The feedback was that it was an idea worth discussing and F1's senior stakeholders concluded it should be adopted. What difference could it have made in previous seasons? Last year, the answer is none whatsoever, in terms of the out- come of the championship. But in 2008, it would have made Felipe Massa champion rather than Lewis Hamilton, who famously pipped the Brazil- ian at the last corner of the final race and won the title by a single point. Massa had two fastest laps in 2008 and Hamilton one. But that's a fallacious argu- ment, because in 2008 there was not a point for fastest lap - and, had there been, the teams and drivers would have conducted the season differently based on that knowledge. That was a point made by a senior figure in F1 on Friday afternoon when asked whether the sport's bosses had done any research into the potential ef- fect of this change before decid- ing on it. What did inform the decision was a desire to increase F1's en- tertainment value. Everyone in F1 accepts the show could do with being improved. The feeling of F1's owners Lib- erty Media is that there is no sil- ver bullet, and that lots of chang- es - big and small - are needed. Big ones are coming in 2021 - to revenue distribution, to team spending and to the cars them- selves. This is a small one. Some will argue it is unnecessary, even a gimmick. The counter-point is that it might add a new dimen- sion to races and the season and make for an extra talking point. The verdict will come at the end of the season F1 to award point to driver who sets fastest lap in a grand prix Lewis Hamilton (left) and Sebastian Vettel are again expected to be two of the main protagonists in the battle for the F1 drivers' title 13YEAROLD Tenishia Thornton topped the podium at the International Weightlifting Women Grand Prix in Slovenia. The competition that was con- veniently set on International Women's day, saw athletes from all over the world participate in the annual event. The Grand Prix attracted participants from the USA, England, Austria, Ger- many, Brazil, Cyprus, Denmark, Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands, Nepal, Portugal, Slovenia, Serbia, Sweden, Norway, Swit- zerland and Uruguay. Thornton, who weighed in at 43.35kg, competed in the U14 girls group and finished with an impressive 49kg snatch and 62kg clean and jerk. Her 111kg total was equivalent to 191.21 points and enough to get gold at the event. Austria finished in second while Croatia placed in third. Thornton broke eight national records in the under-15, eight in the under-17 and four in the under-20 in the process and is now considered one of Malta's most consistent weightlifters. WEIGHTLIFTING Tenishia Thornton Maltese weightlifter, 14, wins gold in Slovenia