The Worst Rules in Formula 1
Some of the worst rules in F1 history!
F1 boasts an array of weird and wacky rules that have backfired spectacularly and made a mockery of the sport and its governing body.
Interestingly, all of these rules are from the 21st century
This suggests that F1 became worried about accusations of being a ‘boring’ sport under more intense modern day scrutiny - perhaps with a greater American-style sporting influence - and attempted something new to compensate…
One Type of Wet Weather Tyre Only
Nowadays, F1 cars have 5 different compounds of tyres to use across the weekend.
Hard, Medium and Soft tyres make up the dry compound, whilst intermediate and full wet tyres accommodate inclement weather.
This wasn’t always the case, and the results could be disastrous.
In the mid-2000s, cars were only permitted to bring intermediates OR full wets. Most teams opted to bring intermediates only, which whilst faster, weren’t able to deal with any standing water on track.
This was especially disastrous at the torrential 2003 Brazilian grand prix, where 8 cars span out amongst streams that crossed the track.
Soon after, the rule was ditched on safety grounds and has never returned.
Double Points
The brainchild of former F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone, double points were introduced for the final race of the 2014 season.
The idea was, after years of Red Bull dominance in the early 2010s, that double points would more likely keep the title fight alive until the last race of the season.
As it happened, the season saw a close fight between the Mercedes drivers of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg anyway.
Double points made no difference as Hamilton won the last race to extend his championship lead and take the championship title.
The idea was considered a cheap gimmick by many, and vanished after just one season with next to no impact on the sport.
It’s still a rule that you can vote for on the all new F1 Manager game…
No Pit Stops Under the Safety Car
This rule was introduced in 2007, to prevent cars from gaining a fortunate advantage over others by pitting under the safety car.
At this time, refuelling was an integral part of F1. Fuel tanks were not big enough to see a car through the race, and cars would stop anywhere between 1 and 4 times to refuel.
Add the two and two together and you have a fundamental flaw in the rules.
If a car was almost out of fuel during a safety car period, there was no choice but to pit under the safety car, break rules and end up with a sizeable penalty.
This incredibly under-thought rule stayed for 2 years but, on the grounds of common sense, was banned for 2009.
No Tyre Changes in a Race
Another one year rule, which was more about politics than sporting fairness.
The sports governing body decided to act in 2005, ruling that tyres could only be changed if they were severely damaged, or for wet weather.
It was intended to stop the Ferrari dominance of the 2000s, which had begun to turn people away from the sport.
Whilst the rule change emphatically achieved this - Ferrari only finished 3rd in both drivers and constructors titles - it had other outcomes which compromised safety.
Rubens Barrichello was forced to retire his Ferrari in Malaysia because the tyre had simply run out of grip.
Kimi Raikkonen developed vibrations in his tyres at the European grand prix in 2005, which caused a suspension failure on the last lap of the race and a big accident.
Amongst internal pressure, the rule was revoked for 2006. Ferrari returned to competitiveness but their dominance had been broken. They have only won one drivers title since.
Elimination-Style Qualifying Format
There were many voices that criticised the 3-session F1 qualifying format, which has been in place since 2006, as stale.
To spice things up, an elimination system was introduced for 2016.
7 minutes into each session, the slowest driver would be eliminated, with another driver eliminated every 90 seconds for the remainder of each session.
This was an utter disaster.
The timings screens were confusing. Drivers couldn’t get round a lap in time to defend their position, making up to 3 minutes at a time totally pointless.
Drivers and team bosses openly criticised the system and it didn’t even see out the season.
Just three races into 2016, the system was scrapped, returning to the same format which still exists today.
