By subh
October 31 2002

Forum postings on the individual SportNetwork F1 team sites suggest that not all of you are 100% convinced about every aspect of these alterations. Here is a breakdown of what will be changing. The single one-hour qualifying session on a Saturday has been abandoned in favour of two one-hour sessions - one each on Friday and Saturday. Cars will go out one at a time for single flying laps.
· Drivers are always complaining about ‘traffic,’ so maybe this will suit some of them. The element of changing weather conditions could factor in some variety.

The points system will change in a bid to keep the championship open for as long as possible, and to award points down to eighth place rather than sixth. The new system awards ten points for a win, and will then go eight, six, five, four, three, two and one.
· Will the reduced gap between first and second mean sometimes a driver will settle for eight points, rather than take an extra risk? On the other hand, will greater consistency be rewarded, as well as those drivers in the ‘minor’ teams?

Team orders that affect race results have been banned.
· Do we really believe that teams will not find a creative way round this?

The Belgian Grand Prix has been struck off the calendar because of a row over tobacco advertising.
· There is almost universal agreement that this is a very poor decision, that robs us of quite probably the best F1 track currently in existence. Perhaps Spa-Francorchamps will be reprieved in the future?

Tyre companies will be allowed to custom-make tyres for each team they supply.
· Can we expect the poorer teams to suffer in this situation? Will the extra costs even drive one of the tyre manufacturers away at some stage?

Have your say on these issues on our forum.