Formula One's governing body said on Friday it was prepared to defer to 2010 a controversial new system awarding the drivers' championship to whoever wins most races. “If, for any reason, the Formula One teams do not now agree with the new system, its implementation will be deferred until 2010,” the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement. The F1 Teams' Association (FOTA) had earlier accused the FIA of acting outside the rules when it decided to change the points scoring system at a meeting in Paris on Tuesday. FOTA added that the teams had “unanimously agreed to question the validity of this decision”. “It is too late for FIA to impose a change for the 2009 season that has not obtained the unanimous agreement of all the competitors properly entered into the 2009 Formula One Championship,” the statement added. The FIA said the “winner takes all” proposal, which was subsequently approved, had been put forward by Bernie Ecclestone. FOTA said teams were prepared to work with the FIA to devise a new system for the 2010 season.
