Jaguar's Tony Purnell has been involved in talks about qualifying

The proposal is for two 20-minute free-for-all sessions replacing the current extended single-lap format.

F1 team bosses said the new format had been agreed in principle in a meeting at the European Grand Prix, but exact details needed to be decided on.

Qualifying currently takes place on Saturday, with drivers not allowed to refuel between qualifying and the race.

That has led to cars starting on different fuel loads, leaving spectators confused about the real performance levels in qualifying.

It's much subject to the rules being produced and everybody agreeing Jaguar performance head Tony Purnell

Broadcasters felt the system was too boring and too long, longer even than the race in some instances, leading to it being tweaked again with an interval.

Under the new plan, there would be two 20-minute sessions, separated by a 20-minute break.

Jaguar boss Tony Purnell said each driver would be allowed six laps in each Saturday afternoon session, with cars running on low fuel for flat-out performance.

The starting grid would be decided by an aggregate of the best runs in each half.

"It's not detailed and it's very much subject to the rules actually being produced and everybody agreeing," added Purnell.

BAR boss David Richards said some teams had wanted the second 20-minute session to be run on race fuel levels.

But Ferrari's Jean Todt had argued that could be dangerous, with some cars crawling round to conserve fuel after completing their laps and others still going full tilt.