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Ecclestone frustrated and disappointed with F1
Bernie Ecclestone says Formula One needs to be a lot better at facing its problems and admits he is disappointed with the sport.
"The trouble is we've got an old house and we keep repairing it. It's not really the way to go," he told reporters in Malaysia. "I'm a little bit frustrated, a little bit disappointed by all these problems. I'm not so much worried about it - we just need to do a lot better."
Formula One faces several problems at the moment, including unsustainable costs for some of the teams which are proving increasingly difficult to meet given the unequal division of prize money between the top manufacturers and F1's smaller outfits. However, the teams could not agree last year on a way of changing the financial structure of the sport, which is no surprise given that the larger teams currently have individual and lucrative contracts with the sport until 2020 that are unlikely to be scrapped.
Ecclestone said he would get behind customer cars or a ban on wind tunnels to help rein in costs, but is also keen on rejigging the structure of grand prix weekends. He proposed an introduction of points for qualifying from first through to 10th and then a scrambled grid for the race so that those that are quickest have to fight their way through the field to score points. However, he admitted that the teams are unlikely to agree on such radical proposals.
Another criticism of F1 since the introduction of a new engine formula last year is that Mercedes has gained a seemingly unassailable advantage. But Ecclestone was clear that the world champions should not be punished for doing a good job.
"I've no complaints or problems about Mercedes doing what they are doing - the complaint I've got is the others are not doing the same," he added. "All Mercedes have done is a good job - they've the best engine, best chassis, best team, two of the best drivers, so they are entitled to win. It's the others that need to get going. No good blaming the people that are doing a good job because they're doing a good job."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
