Jos Verstappen is in favor of the medal system!

Former F1 driver Jos Verstappen expressed his support for Bernie Ecclestone this week by showing interest in a new system for awarding the title. A system similar to that used in the Olympics would be interesting according to the Dutchman, but in a different form from that proposed by Formula 1’s chief financier.

Bernie Ecclestone intends to introduce a new system in 2009 to determine the winner of the World Drivers’ Championship: by the highest number of gold medals, and therefore first places. The goal is to improve the spectacle by provoking overtakes during the race. Verstappen was surprised but admits to liking the idea:

« There are many people who found this idea ridiculous, and honestly at first, I thought that the stress of his divorce had gotten the better of Bernie », jokes the former Minardi driver, now 36 years old.

« Nevertheless, I think he points out something important! In my opinion, it’s the driver with the most wins who should win the championship… it’s even logical! » He elaborates in his column in the Dutch magazine ‘De Telegraaf’.

According to the former driver, a larger gap in the points distribution scale between first and second would be sufficient. Having competed in 107 Grand Prix, Verstappen experienced the era before 2003 when only the top 6 drivers scored points. The scale was as follows: 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Currently, the top eight drivers score points with little difference between the first and second place. According to the Dutchman, this doesn’t encourage overtaking: « Today, a driver who is in second place and competing for the championship is afraid to take too big of a risk by overtaking for first place. So he doesn’t do it, and that’s the problem! »

Another avenue for improvement would be awarding one or more points to the driver with the fastest lap in the race and to the one making the most overtakes.