Ecclestone wants medals instead of points

"The FIA and all the teams are behind it and it will be done," Ecclestone told The Times newspaper.

"Everybody understands gold medals and silver and bronze. Nearly all sports are done that way.

"The whole point will be, when they get to Melbourne for the first race, the guys will want to leave there with a gold medal.

"They don't want to leave with ten, eight or six points."

Ecclestone has been pushing for a change to the current points system for some time, although his idea is yet to be officially presented to the FIA.

The Briton believes his medals idea would even improve the racing.

"Everybody is happy with the idea, they are all very supportive," he told Reuters. "I'm absolutely 100 percent sure it's the right way to go, it'll get them (the drivers) overtaking."

This year's championship was won by Lewis Hamilton, despite Ferrari rival Felipe Massa scoring one more victory.