By Alan Baldwin

LONDON, ENGLAND - Former team boss Eddie Jordan has poured cold water on Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone's plans to have the drivers' world championship decided by gold medals rather than points.

"I think they are a nonsense," Jordan told BBC radio on Wednesday.

"I can't possibly believe he's thinking straight, especially on this one. His focus must be on cost-cutting and nothing else. The rest is just dressing it up."

Ecclestone has said he wants the title won by the driver who wins most races to make the sport more exciting and prevent a repeat of this year's situation where McLaren's Lewis Hamilton needed only to finish fifth in Brazil to be champion.

Hamilton did what was necessary - but only just - at Interlagos, beating Ferrari's Felipe Massa by a single point although the Brazilian won six races to the Briton's five victories.

Under Ecclestone's Olympic-style plan, the top three in each race would get gold, silver and bronze medals. Points would count only towards the constructors' standings and to decide overall rankings.

The 78-year-old Briton returned to the theme at a news conference to announce a new sponsorship partner for the championship on Wednesday.

"It's going to happen. All the teams are happy, we're happy and the (governing) FIA are happy," he said.

"The whole reason for this was that I get fed up with people talking about no overtaking. The reason there is no overtaking is nothing to do with the circuits, very little to do with the cars, it's that drivers don't need to overtake.

"If you are in the lead and I'm second, I'm not going to take a chance maybe falling off the road and doing something silly to get two (more) points," added Ecclestone.

"But if I now need to get gold medals because the most gold medals win the championship, then I will overtake you, I promise. And that's what will happen.

"This year, on a number of occasions, Lewis didn't bother to overtake Massa for that reason. And I wouldn't. If he had driven for me and tried and made a mistake, I would have complained. It's just not on that someone can win the world championship without winning a race."

Jordan said however that points were of vital importance to teams and drivers further down the pecking order and trying to get noticed.

"One point is as important to those teams as a win is to McLaren and Ferrari," he said.

"He (Ecclestone) is tinkering with something on which he has lost the understanding. He thinks only wins matter.

"When Hamilton lost the race in Spa and it was given to Massa, can you believe the controversy that would have created"" added the Irishman.

"There has not been enough thought put into this and for him to say that it comes with the full approval of all the teams - I'm sorry, I just don't believe it."

(Editing by Clare Fallon)