Formula One points system to undergo another change

Formula One teams have agreed to change the scoring system for the second time in two months to increase the reward for race winners and encourage overtaking.

The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said last month that the scoring system would be extended to the top 10 drivers this season, rather than eight, with race winners handed 25 points instead of 10.

However team leaders said on Monday that a further adjustment had now been agreed by them at a meeting last week, subject to official approval.

Instead of allocating the points in a 25-20-15-10-8-6-5-3-2-1 format the proposal was to distribute them 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1.

"I think there is some tuning of the middle range of the points system," said Mercedes GP principal Ross Brawn at the presentation of the team that has replaced his champions Brawn.

"There was a bit of a disparity in the gaps. It has to be ratified by the F1 commission but that's the proposal."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, attending the Mercedes launch, said he was not personally convinced by the change but was willing to go along with it.

"We've got to go the world motor sport council meeting next Monday to see the outcome," he said.

"I personally believe that changing the points won't make a radical difference and therefore I am fairly relaxed if there is strong opinion about tuning these points.

"The original idea (was) that if you increase the incentive to overtake, then drivers will try harder. Certainly most of the young drivers that I see in Formula One are trying quite hard anyway, so I'm not absolutely convinced.

"But at the same time we have got to be willing to change."

Whitmarsh felt the decision to ban refueling would in itself encourage overtaking because cars would not be running with different fuel loads and drivers would not hold off in the hope of getting ahead at the pitstops.

"Now there will be an incentive throughout the whole race to overtake because you will not have variable fuel loads occurring," he said. "I think people will be pushing harder in the early stages of a race to get past."