The World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on 5 November 2008. The following decisions were taken:

From 2009, engine life will be extended from two to three races.

During the 2008 season a review took place of the stewarding arrangements in F1. The current panel of stewards consists of two international stewards and one national steward, all of whom must be eligible for the FIA’s super licence. For 2009, the following updates will be made:

- Any national steward participating who is officiating for the first time will be required to ‘observe’ a minimum of one Grand Prix prior to their event.

- At five Grands Prix in 2009, a number of trainee Stewards, nominated by their ASN and selected by the FIA, will be invited to attend.

- Before each Grand Prix, a short CV of each steward will be posted on the FIA website.

- With the benefit of a new replay system available to the stewards, all incidents will be investigated and appropriate action taken during the race, unless it is essential to seek further evidence afterwards.

- Following the race, a short written explanation of steward’s decisions will be published on the FIA website. This will supplement the formal steward’s decision which largely defines the breach of the rules.

- Where appropriate, additional film evidence that the public may not have seen but which was reviewed by the stewards, will be made available on both the FIA and FOM websites.

Note: No former driver is excluded from seeking their ASN national stewarding licence and then, as with all of the existing stewards, if they gain the necessary level of experience in stewarding events at a national, regional and international level the FIA can consider them for a steward’s super licence.

The Chinese Grand Prix will become the third round of the 2009 world championship under the latest version of next season's Formula One calendar.

An amended schedule was agreed at a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris today.

The Shanghai race moves from its previous October date to 19 April, with the Bahrain Grand Prix consequently moving back one week.

The alteration allows the championship to finish earlier, as the Brazil and Abu Dhabi races have now been moved forward by a fortnight, with the latter now scheduled for 1 November.

Despite talks between Montreal officials and Bernie Ecclestone, it appears there has been no progress regarding the future of the Canadian Grand Prix, so the calendar remains at 17 races.