Formula 1 decides against dropped scores in 2020

Formula 1 will not be using 'dropped scores' in 2020, F1 managing director motorsports Ross Brawn suggesting that teams would try to take advantage of the system.

Brawn has revealed that Liberty Media considered the idea of using dropped scores in the 2020 season to protect teams from losing out if a driver were to test positive for Covid-19 and be forced to miss a race.

However, Brawn feels teams would use the system for tactical benefit, retiring during a difficult race rather than keeping the potential dropped score in hand in case of emergency.

“We did talk at one stage of feasibility of perhaps dropping one or two results in the current circumstances,” Brawn told Formula1.com. “The problem with that is the teams could ‘game it’.

"They could work out how they could take advantage of an opportunity and you might find they get to a race where they aren’t likely to score point because they are having problems, so they decide not to finish.

“That would look bad for Formula 1. There’s all sorts of gamesmanship that would go on if there was an opportunity to drop a couple of results, so we concluded, particularly as it will be a shortened calendar, it was better to leave all results in place.”

Reverse grids may be off the menu, but Brawn confirmed the concept could be revisited for 2021.

“Reverse grid races are still on the table for next year,” he confirmed.

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