Post edited 4:23 pm - March 17, 2009 by jemela
Formula 1 has introduced a new points system which will result in the driver with most wins crowned world champion.
The current points system will still operate to decide a tie if two drivers have the same wins and to define all other championship positions.
Had the new rules been in place in 2008, Lewis Hamilton would have lost the title to runner-up Felipe Massa.
From 2010, there will be an optional budget cap of £30m that will reduce some teams’ spending by 90%.
The new rules were approved by the World Motor Sport Council of governing body the FIA at a meeting in Paris on Tuesday.
Ecclestone’s idea was to award the top three drivers with gold, silver and bronze medals with the driver capturing the most golds crowned champion.
While the medals have been abandoned, the new system delivers on Ecclestone’s wish of rewarding the driver with the most victories.
The F1 chief believes the new system will encourage overtaking.
“If you’re in the lead and I’m second, I’m not going to take the risk of falling off the circuit or doing something stupid to get two points,” Ecclestone said in November.
“If I need a gold medal to win the championship, I will overtake. It’s just not on that someone can win the championship without winning a race.”
However, the new system could see the season settled much earlier.
The points distribution was introduced in 2003, partly to try to ensure the world championship stayed open for longer at a time when Michael Schumacher and Ferrari were dominating the sport.
If the new system had been installed in 2008, Massa would have been crowned world champion as he won six races compared to Hamilton’s five.
Former British F1 driver now commentator Martin Brundle says he will reserve judgement on the alterations.
“I don’t really fully see the need to change it,” he said. “What we may just have is some more exciting races where they’re desperate to take the win rather than settling for second on a particular day, but whether it will generate a more worthy champion remains to be seen.”
The FIA also announced plans to publish the weights of the cars after qualifying for each Grand Prix.
That could give a clue to which teams are using the optional kinetic energy recovery system (Kers).
Kers, which allows drivers a boost of an extra 80bhp for 6.7 seconds each lap, weighs around 35kg and could tip some cars - complete with their drivers - over the minimum weight of 605kg.
To improve clarity, wet tyres have also been renamed “intermediates” and extreme weather tyres are now called “wet”.
With in-season testing now banned, the FIA will only allow teams to carry out eight one-day aerodynamic tests on a straight piece of track.
Teams will also be allowed to carry out three one-day young driver training tests between the season-ending Grand Prix and the end of the calendar year.
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