Ecclestone wants medals not points for 2009

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is confident that his proposal for the world drivers' championship to be decided by gold medals awarded to race winners will be implemented next season.

Ecclestone said on Wednesday that he was moved to act after Lewis Hamilton clinched this year's title by finishing fifth at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.

"It's just not on that someone can win the world championship without trying to win the race," he said.

Under the proposed system, which Ecclestone said should be approved by motorsport world governing body FIA next month, the driver with the most gold medals over a season would win the title. Under that format, Felipe Massa would have won the title this year because he beat Hamilton 6-5 in race wins, but Hamilton only did what was required under the present system.

"It's going to happen," Ecclestone said. "All the teams are happy. The reason this happens is that I get fed up with people talking about no overtaking." 

Under the current system, the winner of each grand prix race earns 10 points in the championship standings, with second place worth eight points and third place worth six. Each of the top eight drivers in every race earn points.

Ecclestone was asked if it didn't seem unfair that under his system, someone could finish second in every race over the season and lose the title to a rival who got lucky and won a single GP.

"You'll have to try harder next year," he said.

Although the new medal system is designed to add to the drama of F1, Hamilton's title win featured arguably the most exciting finish to a season in the history of Formula One. Hamilton, driving a McLaren, lost the fifth place he needed for the title when he was passed by Sébastien Vettel with two laps to go in Brazil, but managed to overtake Timo Glock on the last corner of the last lap to become F1's youngest ever world champion. The 23-year-old Briton beat race-winner Massa of Ferrari by a single point in the overall standings.

If the new scoring system was applied retroactively, there would be as many as 12 different winners in the 58-year history of the championship. Keke Rosberg, for instance, would not have won his 1982 title because he only finished first in a single race.

The proposed medal system will be discussed by the FIA at the its World Motor Sport Council meeting in Monaco on 12 December.

Former Jordan team boss Eddie Jordan said he did not believe the teams were in favour of the change, which would further push smaller teams out of the spotlight and favour the likes of McLaren and Ferrari.

"The points are necessary," Jordan told BBC Radio Five Live. "One point to a team down there is as important as a win is to the likes of McLaren and Ferrari, and we must never forget that. Having been in that position, two points against no points is a huge difference. Drivers like Massa, who started at the very bottom and worked his way up, know how important those points are at the back of the field."