Formula One to award pole position trophy

Formula One will award a pole position trophy next year to the driver who qualifies fastest the most times during the season, the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced on Thursday.

The 2014 sporting regulations, posted on the FIA website, said that in the event of a tie the holder of the most second places would win, with a further countback until a winner emerges.

"If this procedure fails to produce a result, the FIA will nominate the winner according to such criteria as it thinks fit," the regulations stated.

Red Bull's quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel would have won the award in four of the last five seasons.

The FIA also wrote a penalty points system into the regulations, which will see drivers handed a race ban if they accumulate 12 points in a year.

"Penalty points will remain on a driver's Super Licence for a period of 12 months after which they will be respectively removed on the 12-month anniversary of their imposition," the FIA said.

Driver numbers, to be chosen by the competitors and kept for the duration of their Formula One careers, will have to be clearly visible on helmets and the front of cars.

Image: Sebastian Vettel

Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Images