Top ten must use qualifying tyres in 2010

The top ten qualifiers in 2010 will have to start Grands Prix with the same tyres used at the end of Q3, according to reports.

Reports, including in Switzerland's Motorsport Aktuell, the Spanish sports newspaper Marca and Finland's Turun Sanomat, reveal that the decision was made at a recent meeting of the teams association FOTA.

Previously, the top ten could decide to change to a different set of their allocated tyres for the start of the race, with the only stipulation being that both types of compounds be used at least once.

Motorsport Aktuell says the move, to be rubber-stamped by the F1 Commission and World Motor Sport Council next week, is to add a strategic element in order to make races more exciting.

Marca said that "most" of the teams at the FOTA meeting voted for the rule change and that the approval of the subsequent bodies is "likely to be a formality".

Turun Sanomat said teams will have to consider whether to use soft tyres for a high grid position, because the same tyres need to be used with the hefty initial race fuel load.