By Alan Baldwin
SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) - Formula One is considering extending the scoring system so that the top 15 or even 20 finishers are awarded points in future, according to Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya.
Points for a pole position and fastest lap could also feature.
The Indian, whose team are on the sport's core Strategy Group, told reporters at the British Grand Prix on Friday that the potential change was discussed at a meeting this week.
"They're considering whether the points system should go all the way down to 20, 20 being every car scores a point if they finish the race," he said.
"The bottom starts with one point and then goes up. Or whether 10th should be extended down to 15th. All these discussions took place."
Formula One's current scoring system, dating from 2010, awards points down to 10th place with 25 for a win. There are 20 drivers at present, although the starting grid has been bigger in the past.
Before that, the decades since the championship started in 1950 have seen only the top five, six or eight drivers awarded points.
An extended scoring system could also be more lucrative for the governing FIA, with teams having to pay a licence fee based on the number of points scored over the season, but Mallya said that would also have to be looked at.
Mallya told motorsport.com separately that there was "a certain panache" about finishing in the top 10.
"That will get diluted if you start giving points down the line," he added. "When we do well all my friends send me messages saying, 'Congratulations, another top 10 finish.' Top 10 has a certain sense of achievement to it.
"The counter point that was made was that if every driver gets a point, all the way down to the bottom, then every car is going to be racing for a point.
"So at the end of the day nobody is going to stop pushing the limits just because they're outside the top 10 and there is no reward at the end."
The sport is considering changes to the technical and sporting regulations, mostly for after 2020 when current agreements expire. Some could be brought in before then, however.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by John O'Brien)