F1 urged to make clear grand prix change

F1 fans decisively want the championship to make changes to the newly-contentious bonus-point-for-fastest-lap rule.

Having originally been introduced to liven-up drab F1 races with something to fight for towards the end of a perhaps uneventful grand prix, it has been cast under an intense spotlight following the recent round in Singapore.

In the closing stages, with Lando Norris set to gain the extra point, earning an eight-point swing in his favour in his drivers' championship battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen, RB pitted Daniel Ricciardo on the penultimate lap to spoil the McLaren party as best he could.

It was likely the final act of the Australian's F1 career, but as he was outside the top 10 he was not eligible for the bonus point, thus he merely denied it from Norris.

This, unsurprisingly, led to McLaren immediately questioning the fairness of RB directly advantaging a Red Bull driver in the drivers' title fight - which the Milton Keynes team has claimed was done independently and without interference.

But the broader question remains. Has F1 outgrown the fastest lap rule, or at least how it is currently employed, with only those already in the points eligible for the bonus?

Strikingly, over three-quarters of F1 fans polled in a recent survey by RacingNews365 wanted at least some change to the rule.

28.92% think it never should have been implemented in the first place and a further 47.69% want the extra point allocated regardless of finishing in the top 10 or not.

Contrasting that combined 76.61% is the lowly 21.54% who want no change to the rule and the 1.85% who remain unsure on the issue.

Whether the budding controversy surrounding the rule gains traction remains to be seen, and any potential change is further afield still, but fans of the series are clear in their thinking: the rule should not stay as is.