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BBC could guarantee nothing - Bernie

Bernie Ecclestone talks to the BBC © Getty Images

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Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has hit back at Liberal Democrat MP Don Forster after the government minister demanded a full explanation of how the Sky F1 television deal came about.

It was announced last month that Sky Sports will show every race of the 2012 season live with BBC agreeing to a deal which sees it retain live coverage for only half of the races on the calendar. And last week, the Lib Dem's spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport claimed there are contradictions between Ecclestone's version of events and those of Chief Adviser and Business Manager at BBC Sport Neil Land.

Ecclestone has openly praised the deal, saying it is in the best interest of the viewing public as they now have even more viewing options, contrary to Forster's view that the best move would have been for the rights to remain with a free to air broadcaster. And the F1 ringmaster criticised the actions of Forster as naive.

"It is not realistic; he clearly does not understand the situation," Ecclestons is quoted by the Sunday Express. "We would have loved to have stayed with the BBC but they could guarantee nothing."

In a separate report in the Independent Ecclestone told Formula Money editor Christian Sylt that the BBC would only show shortened highlights of the races it does not show live, and not full-length re-runs. The news is significant as head of the Formula One Teams Association and McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said in July that he had been reassured by Ecclestone that the BBC would show full re-runs.

"The BBC will broadcast 75 minutes of every race," Ecclestone told the Independent.

The only race that spans roughly 75 minutes in total is the Italian Grand Prix on the high-speed Monza circuit. In the V10 era it was completed in under 75 minutes on occasion, but last year's race winner Fernando Alonso took 76 minutes 25 seconds to complete its 53 laps in dry conditions.

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