Charles Leclerc has backed F1’s decision to remove the fastest lap bonus point and said it “doesn’t really reward any particular skill”.

After introducing a single bonus point for the fastest lap in a race in 2019, the FIA ​​has chosen to remove it for the 2025 season.

Drivers react to FIA decision to award fastest lap bonus point

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

The announcement of the move came just after RB driver Daniel Ricciardo took the bonus point from Lando Norris in Singapore, allowing his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen to maintain a greater title advantage, but the drivers have generally been supportive of the decision. decision.

Leclerc said it was not a reward for skill but rather a fortune.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Leclerc told media outlets including PlanetF1.com. “Honestly, I always felt like this point was very superficial, because it always depends on your racing situation and it didn’t really reward a particular skill in a certain way, because it was more about you find yourself in a lucky position where you call the pit stop and make the fastest lap.

“So I think it’s good that it was removed.”

George Russell also supported the decision, remarking that he always thought the bonus point was “a bit unnecessary”.

“It would always be the driver who had a tough race in the top 10 who would stop, put on fresh tires and earn the extra point,” Russell said. “So I never really saw the benefit of that, so I’m kind of happy to see that’s gone.”

Carlos Sainz spoke in similar terms, suggesting that it won’t go to the person who is actually fastest.

“I always thought it was not a necessary point in the Formula 1 points system, mainly because of the way it is obtained,” he said. “For now, this point goes to whoever has a free pit stop one lap from the end of the race.

“So it doesn’t show who the fastest guy in the race is, and he deserves a point for being the fastest guy.

“It’s a point that goes to the guy who, by chance or luck or racing situation, has a free pit stop at some point in the race.”

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Sainz suggested an alternative and that would be to give a point to the driver on pole.

“Pole position is something that, at least in Formula 1, has a lot of value,” said Sainz, who has qualified on pole six times during his career.

“Qualifying is something that the media puts a lot of emphasis on knowing and obviously as drivers in qualifying we like to be the fastest because it shows that you may have done the cleanest lap. You have maybe took more risks You put everything on the line to get pole and a point for that in a restricted field is logical.

“In a field where only one car is going to get all the pole positions, that doesn’t make much sense. But in the ideal scenario of a tight field and just one guy fighting in qualifying and taking pole position, I think it might make more sense than the fastest lap of the race.

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