Bernie Ecclestone issues F1 ‘divorce’ warning following ‘completely mad’ move

Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone believes Liberty Media have stretched the F1 calendar too much, believing a focus on prestige would be more beneficial.

Having left Formula 1 behind when Liberty Media bought out CVC Capital to become the sport’s new owners in 2016, Bernie Ecclestone believes the entertainment corporation have stretched the F1 calendar to an unhealthy level.

到2016年,F1的日历已经违反了比赛mark but, in the seven years since, this has stretched to 24 races for the 2024 calendar – with the possibility of even more being added when the new Concorde Agreement is negotiated for 2026 and beyond.

Bernie Ecclestone: 18 F1 races a year is enough

Speaking tothe Daily Mail, the former F1 chief said that even 20 races had felt like too many when he was in charge, and said the current model is going to lead to a sport where competitors and team staff can’t have personal lives.

‘My opinion is that 18 races is enough,” he said.

“We did 20 and I often thought that that was a bit too much. Because you have to think of the teams. Before long, they will have to employ double staff. With 22 or 23 races there will be too many divorces. It is a matter of when.

“I can understand the commercial people because they can say they are signing long-time agreements and that apparently makes the company they work for a lot more money. They can say they have 10-year contracts or whatever. So what they are doing is 100 per cent right for them at the moment, commercially.

“But, without any shadow of a doubt, I would stick to 18 prestigious races. That’s because we don’t know how long-term the contracts are on paper. We don’t know whether they will suddenly decide that it isn’t working too well and stop.”

Ecclestone revealed that one of the now-established races on the calendar, Singapore, had been close to pulling their contract with F1.

“They phoned me and asked me what I thought,” he said.

“I said they should see how it all works out but don’t stop now. I moved it from 18 to 20. I don’t want to make excuses for myself, but that was at a time we were moving it out of Europe to the rest of the world.’”

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Bernie Ecclestone: It’s mad trying to run Formula 1 by being American

With F1’s owners taking the sport in a more American direction, expanding the race calendar to include new races in Miami and Las Vegas, Ecclestone said he would never have allowed it to happen under his watch.

‘I think you can see with the races in America that they are doing — which I think is completely mad,” he said.

“The one in Miami — the way they ran that was mad, trying to be American rather than the way I did it, which was trying to be pure Formula 1 as it was, rather than as it could be.

“Maybe they are completely right; maybe I was wrong trying to keep it more F1. I watch every practice session and every race and I look and I think, “My God are we trying to show Formula One or are we trying to show other things?’

“Netflix has captured them a little bit and they follow that a bit too much. Netflix is in the entertainment business as long as it suits them. It’s not like our old broadcasters who have been with us forever.”

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