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Massa against title decided on wins

Felipe Massa believes last week's points scoring controversy was damaging for Formula 1's image - and thinks future plans to implement a 'winner takes all' system are wrong

The Brazilian has said that he was left unimpressed by the way that the FIA announced that the 2009 title would be handed to the driver with the most wins, before it was forced to revert to the old system because the rule change was not approved by the teams.

"I am unhappy with the situation going on in Formula 1," said Massa during a press conference for Shell in Melbourne on Thursday. "One week we have some news and then the next week everything changes. We need consistent rules, consistent working, to make things a little bit more serious.

"To be honest, when I saw the points coming up from FOTA which increased the difference between first and second, 12, nine and seven, for me it was the best for the sport.

"Then suddenly it came out with a completely different story and it was a complete mess. Nobody liked it, to be honest."

Massa thinks that it is right that race winners are awarded more for victory, but thinks that wins being the only determining factor in the title could have unintended consequences.

"The winner needs to have a better advantage to second, but not in terms of victory, in terms of points," he said. "If you look at Formula 1, it's not so different compared to the other sports.

"I've heard many people saying the driver doesn't fight so much for the victory - the driver always fights for the victory. But you need to concentrate on the whole championship.

"If you look at football, in one match they play completely aggressive, and the next they're a little bit behind to make the points, and that's what counts. You need to think about the whole championship, not just one race because if a driver wins two or three races, the championship is finished.

"If you look at a team, if one driver wins three races the other driver has no chance, so the team will do everything for this driver who wins three races. You force the teams to have a first driver, and that's not good for the sport."

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