F1
New rules are introduced almost every year in an attempt to keep the sport of Formula One as competitive as possible. Some good, some not so good. Are these the most controversial?
As the 2018 Formula One season approaches the halfway point, rule changes for the 2019 season are already being agreed – ahead of further major changes to the sport in 2021. Formula One fans have, of course, witnessed good, bad and ugly rules come and go down the years. These dead (but maybe not buried) rules are among some of the sport's most controversial.
Aggregate qualifying
One of Formula One's shortest-lived rules was brought in back in 2005 for just six races. What was it? Aggregate qualifying. Why Formula One's bigwigs felt the need to complicate and change an already exciting qualifying process is anyone's guess, but they did it by adding together times from one qualifying lap with no fuel restriction and another – on Sunday morning – with the fuel load drivers were set to start the race with.
Not only was it chaotic and overcomplicated, TV broadcasters couldn't find time for the Sunday morning qualifying session in their morning schedules and so the idea was dropped.
Points for fastest laps
Back in the 1950s, Formula One saw a raft of experimental rules tried out, as the young sport attempted to find its feet. One such change was the awarding of points for drivers recording the fastest race laps.
Unfortunately, the rule was ahead of its time and timing technology just wasn't up to the task, meaning that more than one driver could share the spoils for fastest lap. At the 1954 British Grand Prix, for instance, seven drivers shared 0.14 points after all notching a lap time of 1m 50s. The rule was dropped in 1958.
Improved technology would allow this rule to work now, of course, but does anyone want it?
Shared drives
Another rule from a bygone era was the shared drive. From 1950–57, drivers were permitted, if they so desired, to share the same car during races. This resulted in shared points, too, if both drivers covered enough distance.
At the end of the 1956 season, Peter Collins was all set to win his first world title when, thinking about the unwanted attention and demands he might then face, he decided to step out of his car and pass it onto Juan Manuel Fangio to finish second and take the title. The practice wasn't outlawed exactly, but points were no longer awarded for shared drives after 1958.
Refuelling
It was decided in 1994 that refuelling should be allowed once more, despite cries of protest from almost every team in the sport. The result, as many experts predicted, was a series of fires and pit crews lived in fear of unexpected eruptions until the practice was banished again in 2009.
Elimination qualifying
Yet another short-lived 'experimental' qualifying rule. In 2016, elimination qualifying lasted all of one race. This new-look qualifying was introduced for the season-opening Australian GP, with the seven slowest drivers eliminated in Q1, a further seven eliminated in Q2, and the rest eliminated one-by-one in Q1.
It was a disaster, with Lewis Hamilton describing it as "like trying to introduce a second ball on the pitch in football." Qualifying reverted to the 2015 format for the next race and the concept of elimination was quickly put back in the drawer, once again proving that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Double points
When rule changes aren't about making Formula One safer, they're usually introduced to ramp-up excitement. That was the thinking behind awarding double points for the final race of the 2014 season.
That season's finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, is the only race in Formula One history to offer teams and drivers the opportunity to double up on race points – an experiment to prevent drivers running away with the title, as Sebastian Vettel did in 2011 and 2013. The Formula One title has been decided in the final round no fewer than 29 occasions, though. No help was required and the rule was scrapped in 2015.
More aero changes
One of the rule changes agreed for the 2019 season is already causing controversy. After the aero changes in 2017 (introduced to speed up lap times), teams will have to build simplified front wings and brake ducts, with wider rear wings, in an attempt to prevent cars from going round and round race circuits following closely behind one another. Instead, it's hoped the changes will lead to more overtaking – a concern raised after there were just five overtaking moves performed during the 2017 Australian Grand Prix. Red Bull's Christian Horner is one of those opposed to the changes.
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