Formula One legend and Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda believes Abu Dhabi Grand Prix organisers should thank Bernie Ecclestone for introducing his “crazy idea” of making the UAE showpiece a double points race.
Ecclestone had wanted to award double points for the last three races of the championship but instead opted to apply it to just Abu Dhabi.
But what is now referred to as the “Abu Double” has been universally panned by drivers, team principals and fans alike, albeit drawing plenty of attention to the action at Yas Marina Circuit, where Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will battle it out for the championship title.
While the double points system is expected to be axed next season, Lauda believes it has been commercially beneficial for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“This race is getting the most attention worldwide right now because of the double points system,” Lauda told Sport360°.
“We can’t argue about that. From a sport point of view I think it’s wrong. From a promotional point of a view, Bernie is right. Because everybody is talking so much about this race and double points. Whoever is the organiser here should thank Bernie for this crazy idea.”
The Austrian former world champion is looking forward to an exciting showdown today between Hamilton and Rosberg, who in Lauda’s eyes, have managed to bring back the thrill of the legendary battles he had with Alain Prost in the 1980’s.
“Mercedes did a perfect job to win everything. One race we screwed up because of an accident between the two drivers in Spa and the other one we did a mistake too.
“Otherwise we would have won all the races. So performance has been outstanding. And now it’s bet-ween the two guys to decide the championship,” said Lauda.
“I was pretty relaxed coming here because there’s no opposition. On the other hand we have to make sure on Sunday both cars have no technical issues so that really the drivers can decide, completely free, like they’ve been driving from the beginning of the season until now, who’s going to be world champion.
“I think this is the most exciting season in a long time because we have two drivers fighting each other, like (Ayrton) Senna-Prost, like Prost-Lauda, it was complete freedom from all points of view so we could not have done a better job for the sport.”
Asked whether he predicts any trouble between the drivers, the 65-year-old added: “Between them it’s normal aggressive, alpha personalities… all normal for me.
“We have to make sure that the car is top. So we are doing everything possible, we as the team, car, engine and gear box, to make sure there’s no risk.”
While all eyes are on the title contenders, another battle has been taking place further down the grid, as Caterham are fighting for survival in the sport. Both Caterham and Marussia had entered administration a couple of races ago and were unable to show up at Austin and Interlagos but the former have managed to make the trip to Abu Dhabi by raising £2 million (Dh11.5m) through a crowdfunding project. But still, their future remains in the balance.
Ecclestone has recently said that Formula One is better off without the cash-strapped teams and that he’d rather see three Ferraris on the grid than a struggling marque.
Lauda sees the prospect of having less cars on the grid next year as a non-issue.
“I honestly don’t care how many cars are on the grid. Because you can only see how long the grid is on television at the beginning of the race,” said Lauda. “In the end only the top-10 are winning anyway, which is logical. So the 18 cars (instead of 22) don’t concern me. But we have to be careful whatever step we do, that we do the right decision, really thought through properly, not to upset the smaller teams.”
Asked whether he thinks Formula 1 is getting outrageously expensive, Lauda added: “F1 has always been expensive. There’s always been the rich and the poor even in my day. Teams are coming and going. There are some that are always stable like Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams, McLaren, whatever… this is a normal situation.”
