Bottas convinced fastest lap bonus will make 'big difference'

Valtteri Bottas believes the outcome of a tight championship battle could rest on fastest lap bonus points accumulated by a driver over the season.

In a bid to spice up the show, Formula 1 amended its sporting rules before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, awarding an extra championship to the driver who sets the fastest race lap, with those finishing in the top-ten eligible for the bonus.

While the scheme added some spicy intrigue to the final laps of the race in Melbourne, Bottas believes the consequences 21 races down the road could have far greater implications.

• Fastest lap opportunity 'hotly debated' at Mercedes on race day

"Obviously it’s a point and if you get three of those or more it’s going to make a big difference at the end of the year," said the Mercedes driver who bagged 26 points in Australia thanks to a penultimate lap mad dash.

"One point can make a difference in the end.

"For sure we’re willing to risk but still knowing that if you’re about to get 20 or 18 points or 15, whatever, they are still more important than getting one extra so you need to calculate the risk."

Applying the new rule to last's year's campaign, Bottas' seven fastest laps would have elevated the Finn to third from fifth in the 2018 championship.

As compelling as it may turn out to be, the new rule isn't a novel idea for Formula 1 as a single championship point was awarded for fastest lap during the sport's first decade, from 1950 to 1959.

And a look back at the history books even tells us that the scheme allowed Mike Hawthorn to beat Stirling Moss to the world title in 1958.

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