Penalty shake-up is approved

FIA president Max Mosley confirmed the news following a meeting of Formula 1's team chiefs in London on Friday. It means that drive-through penalties, such as that which ended Juan Pablo Montoya's 2003 title hopes in the US Grand Prix, will no longer be handed out.

"[Following a dubious on-track collision] there will be a hearing after the race and then a penalty will be imposed, depending on the gravity of the offence," Mosley told Reuters after the meeting. "If that happens three times in a season the stewards are going to look very seriously into giving a one-race suspension. It won't be automatic but they will look at it very seriously."

Mosley added that the penalty point system would not be exactly the same as that used following road traffic offences in many countries, but would be similar in method.

"This is more flexible than that, but there is the principle that someone who keeps on causing an accident in a dangerous way will be looking at a suspension," he said. "We don't want to discourage people from racing."