F1 vote over NEW drivers' championships given emphatic result

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton after the Sprint in China — Photo: © IMAGO

GPFans Vote

F1 vote over NEW drivers' championships given emphatic result

Should F1 introduce a continental championship

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 18 September 2024 17:57 Updated: 20:42

F1 fans have given an emphatic response to the idea of a new continental drivers’ championship in a recent poll conducted by GPFans.

Max Verstappen currently leads the 2024 world drivers’ championship, with 59 points separating him from McLaren star Lando Norris.

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Despite still holding a comfortable lead, Verstappen has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix and has finished off the podium at the last two races in Italy and Azerbaijan.

Instead, it was Charles Leclerc who achieved a spectacular victory for Ferrari at Monza, whilst Oscar Piastri took his second grand prix victory in Baku.

Max Verstappen still leads the drivers' championship despite a difficult weekend in Baku

Should F1 introduce a continental championship?

As F1 leaves Europe behind for the bright lights of Singapore, Piastri emerged from the European rounds as the most successful driver.

The Aussie star’s consistent performances throughout the European leg of the season has earned him 146 points, more than three-time world champion from Verstappen, and would see Piastri crowned as champion of Europe.

These statistics led GPFans to wonder whether F1 should run a continental championship, awarding more titles based off the points totals of grands prix in a particular geographical region.

Should there be continental titles alongside the main F1 drivers' championship?

Of course, for a continental championship to work, there would have to be races in every continent, and with no race in Africa this would have to be remedied before a championship would run alongside the main drivers’ title.

An Asian championship would not only include China, Japan and Singapore, but also Australia as the only race in its own region.

The Americas championship would combine both North and South, with the US and Mexican races part of the title alongside Brazil.

However, when the question was put to GPFans’ audience via a poll, 51% of fans responded that there should not be a continental championship.

Only 27% of fans wanted more titles, with 22% calling for a grand prix in Africa before a continental championship is considered.

Red Bull Max Verstappen Ferrari Lando Norris Oscar Piastri Charles Leclerc