F1 2019: Bonus point for fastest lap confirmed for new season starting at Australian Grand Prix

The driver and constructor of the fastest lap will gain an additional point if they are classified in the top 10

Formula 1 will reintroduce a point for the fastest lap during a grand prix, starting with Sunday’s season-opening race in Australia.

The move was initially approved during a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) last Thursday and was officially confirmed on Monday.

The FIA said the extra point will only be gained if the driver is classified in the top 10, while a point will also be awarded to the constructor of the driver setting the fastest lap.

Ross Brawn – managing director, motorsports, Formula One – said: “Together with the FIA we have been committed to evaluating ideas and solutions that can improve the show whilst maintaining the integrity of our sport.

“We felt that the reintroduction, after sixty years, of a point for the driver of the fastest lap in the race goes in this direction.

“We have been considering this solution – which represents a response to detailed research carried out with thousands of our fans around the world – for a number of months.

“How many times have we heard the drivers on the radio ask the team about who holds the fastest lap?

“Now it will no longer be only a matter of record and prestige, but there will be a concrete motivation that will make the final part of the race even more interesting.

Lewis Hamilton will be able to bank an extra bonus point per race this season (AFP/Getty)

“Sometimes it is useful to remind ourselves of the heritage of our sport to move forward.”

It is 60 years since a point was awarded for the fastest lap as it was in place for the first 10 years of F1, from 1950-59.

It proved crucial in 1958 when Mike Hawthorn pipped Stirling Moss to the title by a point, setting the fastest lap on five occasions to his rival’s three.

Only once in recent seasons would such a system have made a difference – in 2008, when Lewis Hamilton, then with McLaren, beat Ferrari’s Felipe Massa to the title by a point.

The 2019 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne this Sunday.

PA