Why M-Sport is in favour of the new WRC points system

This weekend will see the WRC debut its new points-scoring structure, ratified by the FIA, which is designed to spice up rallies and in particular the action on Sundays.  

Under the new system, a sliding scale of 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 points will be awarded at the end of Saturday, but only if a crew reaches Sunday’s final classification. If a crew fails to finish on Sunday, the Saturday points will be awarded to the next best-placed pairing.

Competitors will also do battle for seven points assigned to Sunday’s leg. Points will be awarded to the top seven competitors via the following sliding scale; 7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

The prime reason for its introduction is to prevent drivers from cruising through Sunday’s stages preserving tyres for the end-of-rally Power Stage, which remains unchanged with the top five fastest drivers receiving bonus points, five the maximum.

If a driver completes a perfect rally, they will continue to score 30 points as per the previous regulations, but there is now a scenario where the eventual outright rally winner could suffer a problem on Sunday and therefore leave the event with fewer points than their rivals.

The complex new points system has already sparked plenty of debate among drivers and teams. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and Hyundai duo Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville all feel that the victory has been devalued under the new rules.

However, M-Sport boss Millener has welcomed the change, which he feels adds more power to the teams in terms of strategy, and could offer an advantage to his team, led by young guns Adrien Fourmaux and Gregoire Munster.

“I think it is great. Nobody likes change, but I think we have to change,” Millener told Motorsport.com.

“The WRC as a whole hasn’t done any changes since the introduction of Power Stage points, and they were a great change, but then we kind of went stale and stagnant for five years. This is a big change, but I think it has brought in a lot more strategy.

“It is probably a slight advantage for us with our line-up. We can have a strong Friday and Saturday, maybe from an advantageous road position, and then we can reassess on Saturday night and maybe we don’t need to push as hard on Sunday. Previously, in the past, if you were in a good position on Saturday night you could have been overtaken on the Sunday and you would be worried about that. You don’t have to worry as much because…