Formula One set for major last-minute rule change for 2019

Formula One drivers who finish in the top 10 could earn an extra point if they secure the fastest lap of a race this season.

Plans for the rule change were approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council on Friday, just one week before the 2019 campaign gets underway in Melbourne.

The final decision will come down to an e-vote of the F1 Commission.

If approved, it will be the first time a point has been awarded for fastest lap since 1950 to 1959 – the first decade of the world championship.

The extra point effectively decided the 1958 title, with Mike Hawthorn edging Stirling Moss.

But only one title since 2000 would change hands under the updated 2019 system.

Felipe Massa would have won the 2008 championship from Lewis Hamilton if extra points for fastest laps were handed out.

Formula One officials will hope teams now push their drivers into late pit stops for new tyres in a dramatic bid to secure the extra point.

The point is already available to all drivers, rather than just the top 10, in the FIA’s all-electric Formula E series.

Who was fastest last year?

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas led the championship with seven fastest laps in the 2018 season.

Aussie racer Daniel Ricciardo recorded four in his Red Bull, while teammate Max Verstappen had two.

Hamilton and title rival Sebastian Vettel each had three, while Kimi Raikkonen and Kevin Magnussen rounded out the season with one apiece.