Formula One news

Ecclestone: No point in staying if F1 collapsed

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that he would have departed Formula One had teams formed a breakaway series earlier this year. The Englishman, owner of Formula One Management (FOM) and commercial rights holder for the sport, also claims that many current team bosses should appreciate the established sport more.

With the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) having been involved in much bickering with governing body the FIA this season, particularly surrounding the proposal of a €45m budget cap, Ecclestone summed up the situation. "I was just telling someone the other day that most of them in Formula One are a bit new," he described to the Singaporean Today newspaper.

Ecclestone headed the championship-winning Brabham team in the 1970s and 80s

"They haven't served an apprenticeship. They just don't know what we had to go through to build things up in the beginning to what they are today; they want to take whatever they can as much as they can and disappear - a couple of them, I think, maybe thought they would like to do something else and be in charge of something. They are not even in charge of anything they are now doing anyway, so how they think they could be in charge of something as big as F1, I don't know. Anyway, it is their opinion."

With the F1 supremo firmly standing his ground over the structure of the World Championship, Ecclestone notably pointed out that he would not have been interested in keeping his job in the event of the teams in question all leaving the sport. "There wouldn't be any point in staying if it collapses, would there?" he remarked. "I probably think it's not worth the effort, rebuilding it; I've got enough energy to do many, many other things and that is what I would be doing."

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