Formula 1: New rules set for 2010 - F1 boss

Page last updated at 12:43 GMT, Sunday, 22 March 2009

New rules set for 2010 - F1 boss:

Ecclestone wants the change so that "people race to win" Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says the new scoring system he is championing will definitely be introduced next year. Plans to use the system, in which the driver with most wins becomes champion, from 2009 were scrapped on Friday. But Ecclestone told the BBC that the system would be introduced in 2010. "It will be supported by the FIA and it will be in the regulations, so when the people enter the championship, that's what the regulation will be," he said. Asked if he was disappointed by the decision to ditch the system for this year, Ecclestone added on BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme: "Absolutely. If you go to the athletics and look at the 100m you're not looking at the guy that's second, you're looking at the winner. Lewis (Hamilton) last year was second in a couple of races he could easily have won and he was quite right in being second F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone "To make any changes when the entries have closed, you have to get a unanimous agreement between all the people that have entered, and it would appear that some of the teams didn't like the idea. "The whole idea is nothing to do with winning the world championship, the idea was to make sure people raced in every race to win, not to be second or third and collect points." The new system means that a driver could wrap up the title well before the end of the year, but Ecclestone brushed off suggestions it could potentially kill off interest in the sport. "That's too bad. Maybe they'd be watching the other races where the people are racing to win rather than be second," said Ecclestone. And he referred to a couple of races from the 2008 championship as examples of how the present scoring system discouraged attacking driving. "Lewis (Hamilton) last year was second in a couple of races he could easily have won, and he was quite right in being second," said Ecclestone. "If I'd have been his team manager I'd have been complaining if he'd been racing to win, in case there was a problem in the car or he fell off the road." Defending champion Hamilton has been off the pace in pre-season testing but Ecclestone said he "absolutely" believed Hamilton remained the man to beat, adding "certainly if we had that other scoring system he would be".