While the FIA has chosen to ignore his request that medals, rather than points, be awarded to podium finishers in races, Bernie Ecclestone is delighted that the sport's governing body has ruled that from this season the number of race wins will decide who wins the title.

Ecclestone had been pushing for a system whereby the first three finishers in a race were awarded a gold, silver or bronze medal, as in The Olympics, with the World Championship crown going to the driver with most gold medals. The Formula One Team's Association, on the other handed, simply wanted the currents points system slightly shaken up with a bigger points reward for race winners.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live in the wake of the FIA's decision, Ecclestone said: "It's a modification of my medals idea, which I wanted to go down to bronze in third place, but this is a good start.

"The idea is to get people racing," he continued. "Somebody who is running second has now got to try and win rather than thinking that if he happens to win he'll only get two more points. That's a big motivation to try and get past someone."

Despite widespread scepticism regarding the new rule, Ecclestone insists that it will improve 'the show' by forcing drivers to battle for victory rather than settling for positions.

"There are all these complaints that the cars are wrong and that the circuits are wrong, but in the end I think the guys that actually driving the cars have a lot to do with it," he said. "If you were first and I was second, and I thought it was a risk to overtake you, I wouldn't bother."

The Englishman pointed to last season as an example, when, had the new system been in place, Felipe Massa, who had six wins to his tally, would have taken the title as opposed to Lewis Hamilton, who had only 5 wins. Ecclestone is convinced that under the new rules the McLaren driver would have had to push harder.

"On a couple of occasions when he could've and should've overtaken, he didn't," said Ecclestone.

"The guys that know they're going to win are quite happy, and the ones that aren't going to win don't care," he added, when asked how the new rule will go down with drivers.