BERNIE ECCLESTONE says that if he was still running Formula One, he’d rip up the rulebook and bring back the entertainment.
The 89-year-old says he is not interested in returning to run the sport but believes it is in need of a change of direction.
Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has revealed he wants the sport to be more entertaining
And the former F1 supremo thinks that ditching the hybrid engines and allowing drivers to show the personalities is the key.
He said: “Somebody needs to tear up the rulebooks – and really write new rules. We need to keep the basics of F1 but just get away from all these super-high-tech things.
“And then we need to stop telling drivers what they can’t do. I want to see sportsmen over the edge. Not to the point of an accident, but proper wheel-to-wheel racing.
“And if it goes wrong? Remember when Nelson [Piquet] got out of the car and whacked Eliseo Salazar after they crashed into each other? The people loved it. It’s human.
“There are all these ideas about increasing overtaking, but the racing today isn’t much different to how it always was.
“What you need is competition. It’s when a team dominates that it gets frustrating. I don’t think that is the way to go.
SET IN STONE
“We need to make sure that F1 remains an entertainment package. I’d go back to normally aspirated engines that make a bit of a noise and look exciting.
“I don’t see how the engines that we currently have, which are the best bit of engineering that has ever been done, are of any interest to the public.
“What gets people excited: how much fuel an engine uses or how much power it produces?”
Ecclestone has some sympathy with Liberty Media, who now own F1, as they struggle to run their series against the likes of Formula E.
The all-electric series has seen growing support among car manufacturers, global brands and younger fans.
He told Autocar magazine: “I feel sorry for the guys running F1 now, as they have to consider the impact of Formula E.
“I would have buried it. It would have saved all the arguments. It wouldn’t have happened if I had been there.
“But now everyone is only talking about electric cars, so it would be a bit of a courageous thing now to go against it.”
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
