Dec.7 (GMM) The F1 teams' alliance FOTA last Thursday kicked off discussions about Bernie Ecclestone's proposals for an Olympic Games-style 'medals' scoring system.
The 78-year-old F1 chief executive seems to have jumped the gun recently, when he declared that "all the teams are happy ... and the FIA are happy" to proceed with his idea to ditch the current system of awarding drivers' points down to eighth place.A discussion among the teams actually commenced only in Geneva last Thursday, meaning it is not known if Ecclestone's concept will have the requisite support when the World Motor Sport Council meets in the coming days."We are discussing this issue in FOTA and we have not come to a clear opinion as yet," BMW-Sauber team boss Mario Theissen told DNA India in an interview."However, we will soon come to a joint conclusion and respond to Bernie's proposal. It won't be fair to express an opinion now," the German said.In the wake of Honda's shock announcement on Friday that it is leaving the sport, FIA president Max Mosley ridiculed the idea of shaking up the points system as akin to worrying about "the colour of the wallpaper when you're on a sinking ship".He subsequently told the Press Association: "I'd be inclined to go for medals, but I'd really like to listen to what everybody says about it because when you make these big changes, sometimes there are unintended consequences."My real preference would be to ask the public. I think we ought to do a bit of market research," said Mosley.
