New Points System for 2010

The sports governing body (FIA) and the teams reached an agreement to use a new points system for the 2010 Formula 1 season.

With the field increasing in size from 20 to 26 cars for 2010, teams have agreed that World Championship points should now be offered down to tenth place for the first time in the sport’s history, replacing the previous top eight system which was introduced for the start of 2003.

The new system is meant to encourage racing and winning with the top 10 finishers rewarded in a 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 sequence.

Tyre rules will also be modified so drivers will have to start the race on the same set of tyres with which their grid time was set in qualifying.

Another interesting news is that double diffusers will be banned from 2011. Diffusers improve downforce by channelling the flow of air smoothly under the car, but caused a lot of controversy in 2009 because of the way Brawn, Toyota and Williams used them.