Monday October 28th, 2002

By Alan Baldwin

Formula One rule changes announced today should provide a shot in the arm for the sport next year after a season of declining television audiences, team bosses said.

"I believe personally that it is everything that is needed but we will have to wait for the middle of next season to see what effect it's really had," said British American Racing's David Richards.

"I suggest that next season is probably going to be vintage Formula One again."

Eddie Jordan said the changes should ensure a "better show, better excitement but at the same time reduce where appropriate the costs."

The governing FIA's Formula One commission met on Monday in a meeting that team boss Frank Williams had said earlier could be the most important in the sport's history.

FIA president Max Mosley and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone announced significant changes, albeit far removed from drastic measures threatened, to spice up the sport and save money after a year of Ferrari domination.

Ferrari won 15 of 17 races this year but television viewers began to switch off as Michael Schumacher kept on winning.

The measures including tightening the points structure, so that the second placed driver is awarded eight points instead of six, and allocating points for seventh and eighth places rather than just the top six.

Qualifying will take place on Friday and Saturday, with two one hour sessions and drivers allowed just one flying lap each on their own. The fastest man on Friday will go last on Saturday.

Test Breakthrough

Providing three teams agree by December 15 not to do more than 10 days of testing during the season, they will be allowed to test at each Grand Prix for two hours on Friday morning and with three cars before qualifying.

Minardi's Paul Stoddart said the extra points for seventh and eighth places and the possible Friday testing were good news for teams like his that are regularly shut out in a series dominated by manufacturers.

He also said the new Saturday format should mean an end to drivers, such as Minardi's departing Malaysian Alex Yoong, failing to qualify because it would be unfair to penalise anyone on the basis of just one lap.

Jordan said he would look at the testing options.

"It's very interesting, it's a new concept. Of course, it's a balance. Is there enough time to test in the pre-season to do the amount of things that you want to do?

"It is a fair option to see whether you want to take the full testing or the Friday and at the moment I haven't decided," said the Irish entrepreneur.

Stoddart had no doubts, saying testing on race Fridays could significantly improve his team's finances and he would sign up for it immediately.

"I think the proposals are good for the sport. Certainly we're going to liven up both practice on Friday and qualifying on Saturday," said the Australian. "They will do what we want to do which is to improve the show to the people. And I think there is a little bit of help in there for the smaller teams.

"For a team like us, we would like to run in a host nation one of that country's drivers. If that driver had a sponsor it would be a straight commercial business, we need money and it's a good way of earning it.

"In the United States for example, I would have run both (U.S. drivers) Townsend Bell and Bryan Herta on a Friday morning. The interest that would have created at the U.S. Grand Prix would have directly translated on Friday and Saturday into gate attendance and interest."

Stoddart also enthused about the chance of a potentially underrated test drivers being able to show what they could do against regular drivers on Grand Prix circuits normally off limits to them.

"When's the last time a driver who wasn't actually racing got to drive a Formula One car around Monaco, Australia, Canada, Japan and Brazil? This is actually a rather major breakthrough and that's for me what I've got out of this meeting," said Stoddart.

"Formula One has today made some very, very important decisions about its future. They have been done in the right spirit of promoting a great sport to be even greater."

Published at 17:51:13 GMT