F1 to adopt knockout qualifying system

Formula One will switch to a three-phase knockout qualifying system next season after a meeting of the Formula One Commission on Monday.

Five cars will drop out after a first 15-minute session and another five after a second stint. The remaining 10 will then fight for pole in a 20-minute final session.

A spokesman for the governing International Automobile Federation said the measures had been approved at a meeting of the Commission which includes all 10 teams.

Qualifying has been a subject of debate since the single-lap format was introduced at the end of 2002 to replace the previous free-for-all session.

The current system, with each car running alone against the clock, has been much criticised by teams and broadcasters.

Sunday qualifying was introduced this year and then abandoned after six races following protests.

A FIA proposal for a radical new rear wing concept, designed to facilitate overtaking, also won the support of teams for 2007 subject to further input from their technical directors.

The Centreline Downwash Generating (CDG) Wing, formulated with the help of the FIA's technology partner AMD, would eliminate the current single rear wing and replace it with two box-like wings, one behind each rear wheel.

"It is intended that the CDG wing, together with wider wheels and slick tyres, will form part of the 2008 FIA Formula One technical regulations," the FIA said in a statement.

"With the support and collaboration of the teams it may be possible to introduce these changes as early as 2007."

The idea is to allow cars to run closer together without performance loss, with the wings creating a wake that gives a following car more downforce and reduced drag.

"This new research is important for the future of Formula One," said FIA president Max Mosley. "By introducing the CDG wing we can give motor sport fans exactly what they have asked for, wheel-to-wheel racing with much more overtaking."

A recent survey commissioned by the FIA found that 94 percent of the viewing public wanted to see more overtaking.

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