The FIA changed the Formula 1 rules today, less than two weeks before the season opener in Australia. The driver who wins the most races during this season will be the FIA F1 World Champion! If two (or more) drivers have as many wins, the driver with more points will win the championship.
Constructors championship will be decided only by the amount of points, just like before.
Original story:
FIA Meeting: Most race victories wins championship
17 March 2009
The 2009 Formula One World Champion will be the man who wins most races, following rules changes imposed by governing body the FIA. The World Motorsport Council (WMSC) met at Paris headquarters to discuss the changes first suggested by commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone.
The Federation accepted the proposal from Formula One Management (FOM), and the driver who wins the most Grands Prix will now become champion, as opposed to the most points. However, as a variation to Ecclestone's idea, no medals will be awarded to drivers. Consistency will remain vital, as points will decide the title in the event of any number of drivers scoring the same amount of race wins.
The scoring system remains the same with 10 points for a win, 8 for second position, 6 for third and 5-4-3-2-1 down to eighth place; the number of points will still decide any position in the standings other than first. The Constructors' championship will remain the same, and will once again by decided by points only.
Contrary to popular belief, with the new race wins system in place, the FIA rejected FOTA's idea of changing the number of points scored for first, second and third to a 12-9-7 system.