MONACO (AP) — A new points system for the expanded 13-team Formula One championship next season has been approved, rewarding the top 10 drivers and handing the winner 25 points.

Under the previous system of 10 points for a win, Jenson Button would still have captured the 2009 championship but by a greater margin over Sebastian Vettel.

The change, which was proposed by the F1 Commission and ratified by the World Motor Sport Council yesterday, is to accommodate the three extra teams on the grid.

Second-place drivers will earn 20 points, then it will go 15, 10, 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 and 1. Since 1993, it went 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.

"It's a great idea," Button told BBC radio. "It's nice that you get five points over second for winning. That's important because we all love winning races. I won six races this year and I got just two more points (than the second-place driver)."