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Vettel: 'Double-points rule absurd'

LONDON, England - Red Bull's four-times Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel has branded a rule change to award double points at the final race of the F1 season from 2014 as 'absurd'.

The 26-year-old, winner of the previous four championships, told Germany's Sport Bild on Tuesday (Dec 10) that he saw no merit in the change.

'DON'T UNDERSTAND'

Vettel said: "You can hardly imagine that on the last match of the Bundesliga (soccer) season, matches are suddenly worth twice as many points. It's absurd and it punishes the drivers who have worked hard through the whole season.

"I value the old traditions in F1 and don't understand this rule."

The controversial change, announced by the International Automobile Federation on Monday (Dec 9) after a meeting of the sport's new F1 strategy group that is made up of six teams (including Vettel's team Red Bull) has been roundly criticised by fans on social media.

F1 DEVALUED

A headline on the F1 Fanatic website, whose poll of more than 700 members showed 90% opposed to the idea, declared: "F1 demeans itself with double points gimmick".

Sport Bild quoted Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko as saying his team had been against the change but was overruled. Marko added that an initial proposal had been to award double points for the last four races.

Vettel won the 2013 championship with three races to spare and ended the season with nine consecutive wins.

The federation said the rule change would "maximise focus on the championship until the end of the campaign" but others questioned the need for any such tweak.

Former GP racer and Sky TV commentator Martin Brundle said on Twitter: "Double points for the last F1 GP of the season looks like an answer to a question nobody was asking. Devalues the other races too."
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