The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has taken on extra importance in the 2014 Formula One calendar after F1 chiefs announced plans to restructure the points on offer for the race winner.
Governing body, the FIA, said on Tuesday that it is to award double points at the final race of the season from 2014.
Last week, the World Motor Sport Council confirmed that the UAE capital will host the season-ending race next year on November 23, replacing Brazil.
The plan is one of a number of changes next season, along with the adoption of a cost cap – details of which are still to be finalised – from 2015.
The decision to award double points, counting towards the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, at the final race of the season was made “to maximise focus on the championship until the end of the campaign”, according to an FIA statement.
The move reduces the possibility of a championship being settled before the final race by increasing the number of points available to a driver from 25 to 50.
If the new system had been in place for the last two decades, three world titles would have been won by a driver other than that year’s world champion.
In 2012, Fernando Alonso would have beaten Sebastian Vettel; in 2008, Felipe Massa would have denied Lewis Hamilton; and in 2003 Kimi Raikkonen would have edged out Michael Schumacher.
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