Hill: Why isn't double points' concept a good idea?

Damon Hill believes the decision to award double points for the final race of the 2014 F1 season will 'make things exciting' and he has questioned those that think the concept is 'stupid'.

Fans have widely hit out at the decision announced back in December and in our poll, when asked if double points are a step too far, just over 90 per cent of you felt it was a bad idea [click for results - HERE].

Few in the sport have been enthusiastic about it either. Sebastian Vettel has said he feels it is 'absurd' that the race in Abu Dhabi will now be worth twice as much as any other on the calendar, and the likes of Martin Brundle (who said it was the 'answer to a question no one was asking'), Eddie Irvine (who branded it 'embarrassing' and 'tinsel town bulls***!') and former F1 and motorcycling world champion John Surtees (who said it was 'purely a commercial gimmick' and 'totally and utterly wrong') have also been critical.

Hill, however, argues it does have some merits and has even suggested points should be halved for all the races in the first part of the year.

"It's going to be unpredictable with double points proposed in the final race of the season. It will make things exciting. I've heard a lot of people say it's stupid but why isn't it a good idea? Maybe it's a great idea. It's all artificial anyway," Hill said in an interview with The Times of India.

"The championship is likely to go down the wire this time [now]. Anything that increases the chances for somebody else [to become champion] is a good thing. The greater the unpredictability, the more attractive it becomes," continued the 1996 F1 world champion, who is now a pundit for Sky Sports F1.

"I lost the title by a single point in 1994 against [Michael] Schumacher, but that did infuse a certain thrill among the fans.

"How about slashing the points by half in the first six months of the season? That will make the title race really close."

As for what he thinks of Vettel and how the four-time F1 world champion compares to the likes of Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen, Hill added: "They are all different characters - have different styles and approaches. Vettel is very different from Michael. That's what makes F1 interesting.

"Vettel is like a puppy, so much enthusiasm, it seems the track is his school playground."

Meanwhile, Hill has expressed his disappointment that there won't be an Indian Grand Prix in 2014: "It seems to me that there is a bureaucratic challenge, which has meant the Indian GP can't return. It's a shame. I thought it was a good start and a lot of effort was put in to get a great track there," remarked the former Williams, Arrows and Jordan pilot.

"The drivers liked it. The question is: what is the value of an international event to India? Maybe within India, it does not have the popularity that it has elsewhere and so it is perceived as not being important. But outside, a F1 race is seen as a good advertisement for the country."