Friday qualifying set for axe

The Australian told Reuters that instead of being split into two separate sessions, qualifying next year will be dealt with in one 90-minute session, with each driver having two runs. The drivers' first lap - run in the finishing order of the previous race - would determine the order for the second runs, as with Friday qualifying this year. The second run would determine the order for the grid.

The private Friday test session, run for teams that had agreed to limit their testing, is also set to be scrapped next year. Instead, teams would have an extra hour of practice on Friday afternoon, with the bottom six outfits allowed to run their third car. Stoddart said that all teams will be limited to 48 days of testing during the season.

The Minardi boss is disappointed with the changes. "From the smaller teams' point of view, there's nothing in it for us," he said.

Stoddart fears the changes will penalize teams such as his because they are likely to have their first qualifying run last, and then have to turn the car around quickly to run again, whereas the leading teams could have up to an hour and a half between their runs.

The decisions made by the Commission still have to be approved by the FIA's, the sport's governing body, World Motor Sport Council.