LONDON - FORMULA One boss Bernie Ecclestone praised the decision to determine the sport's champion by race wins instead of total points, saying on Wednesday it will encourage overtaking and 'real racing.'

Governing body FIA revised the scoring system for F1's championship on Tuesday, with the number of Grand Prix victories now deciding the championship rather than accumulated points.

'What it does is make the drivers bloody well go for the win rather than settle for second,' Mr Ecclestone said.

'It will be real racing, which is good for the fans and the sport.'

With the new system, Ferrari's Felipe Massa would have been the 2008 champion over Lewis Hamilton of McLaren because he led 6-5 in race wins. Hamilton won the title by one point.

The Formula One Teams Association expressed disappointment and concern that FIA's decisions were made 'in a unilateral manner.'

The 10 teams had wanted to modify the points totals to better reflect the importance of winning a race.

'Everything that is proposed, the teams always say forget it - it is just par for the course,' Mr Ecclestone said. -- AP