F1 pulls U-turn over race winners

Formula One's governing body has confirmed that the 2009 drivers' championship will be decided by the same points system as last year rather than awarding it to the winner of most races.The International Automobile Federation (FIA) triggered a controversy last week when it announced after a meeting of its world motor sport council that the title would go to the winner of most races, even if someone else scored more points.The governing body then backtracked on Friday, agreeing to postpone any change to 2010 if teams did not agree with the new system.The teams had accused the FIA of ignoring the rules by imposing a change without the unanimous agreement of all competitors entered in the championship.Now the FIA have published the updated sporting regulations."The Formula One world championship driver's title will be awarded to the driver who has scored the highest number of points," they said on Tuesday.The race winner will get 10 points with the rest allocated in a sequence of 8-6-5-4-3-2-1.The 2009 season starts on Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.