Teams approve new tyre rules for 2010

As AUTOSPORT revealed last week, F1's think-tank, the Sporting Working Group, has pushed for the concept that will add a strategic element to qualifying and open up the potential for overtaking over the course of a race.

The matter was discussed at a meeting of the F1 Commission in Paris on Monday, and it was agreed that there should be a regulation change for all the Q3 drivers to start the race on their qualifying tyres.

A statement issued by the FIA on Tuesday said: "In order to introduce a further element of strategy, cars having participated in Q3 must start the race on the same set of tyres with which their grid time was set."

The F1 Commission also approved a reduction in the number of dry weather tyre sets allocated to each team - reducing it from 14 down to 11.

Furthermore, in order to encourage teams to run on Fridays, one set of these must be returned before the start of second practice, and two sets before the start of third practice.

Teams also approved a change to the points structure, first revealed by AUTOSPORT, that will offer more reward for victories compared to the version that was approved last December.

The points will now run 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1, meaning there is a seven-point difference between first and second.

The FIA said that further measures for 2010 were also being examined.

Teams have also approved changes to the technical regulations for 2011 that will effectively ban double diffusers.

Furthermore, reductions in aerodynamic downforce will be achieved by cutting the maximum height of the diffuser from 175mm to 125mm.

FIA president Jean Todt is also making a push for more green technologies in the sport to be considered.

An FIA statement said: "The Commission received a strong mandate from the FIA President to examine the introduction of new environmental technologies in the Championship. The mandate was warmly welcomed by the teams and further proposals will be developed."