Mosley: New rules made the difference

The race featured six lead changes among four drivers, and Mosley is adamant that the new rules did play a major part in producing the excitement.

Speaking exclusively to AUTOSPORT he said: "I think the new rules contributed a lot, because the nearest equivalent I can think to a race like this was at Silverstone last year. It was a similar race weather-wise and, although it was okay, it wasn't anything extraordinary.

"I think what made this race really exciting was the fact that almost every car other than the two Ferraris was in a different position on the grid to that which it would have been under the old procedures. Everybody also had different fuel loads to those that they normally would have had. A combination of these two factors meant the whole thing became very, very interesting."

Mosley also hinted that the rules could be changed to stop teams such as Minardi aborting their qualifying runs in return for being able to work on their cars after Saturday qualifying. He said: "I can't think of one element that needs changing except possibly the ability of people to choose not to run, like Minardi, and therefore start at the back. But even that needs some thought and I am not certain that it matters."

For more on this story, including further comment from Max Mosley and the reaction of Ron Dennis and Frank Williams to the new rules in action, get this week's AUTOSPORT magazine.