Ecclestone: The poor distribution of income “probably my fault”
Interviewed by the press, Bernie Ecclestone opened up about the significant economic difficulties of the teams, acknowledging mistakes and urging the leading teams to make financial sacrifices.
In the context of the crisis affecting F1, Bernie Ecclestone admitted to making mistakes and indicated that the leading teams should make sacrifices to solve the thorny issue of costs.
Usually reluctant to confide in the press, Ecclestone acknowledged that the commercial agreements made with the teams had contributed to the difficulties faced by the discipline: “The problem is that there is probably too much money that is poorly distributed; it’s probably my fault,” he admitted this Saturday in Austin. “But like many contracts people make, they seem good at the time they are made.”
Does he regret making the deals? « If the company belonged to me, I would have done things differently because it would have been my money at stake. But I work for people who are in business to make money. »
Among the ideas put forward by the president of the FOM to improve the situation, the main one is to involve the big teams by encouraging them to share their revenues through a fund to help smaller structures. « We must open the eyes of decision-makers to what they need to do. I wouldn’t want to be in a position where I am too strong, where F1 disappears, and people say it’s because of you that it vanished. »
« I told the people who collect a sum of money that I would like to take a percentage of their performance-related income. I would put this money into a common pot to divide it among the three or four teams that we know are struggling but are not going to go away with the money, and I would add the same amount of money. »
He knows, however, that implementing such a financial structure will not be easy: « A decision must be made on the best way to resolve all this. Frankly, I know what’s wrong, but I don’t know how to fix it. Not everyone is ready to do everything to solve it because they can’t. The rules have tied us up. We cannot all sit quietly and think the problem will solve itself. It’s not like having a cold and taking a few pills. I think the situation is such that if enough people want to solve it, we can solve it. It’s the business of people involved in the sport, who want to take care of the discipline and who are ready to make some sacrifices. I would like to tear up all the contracts, take all the money, pay all the debts of the teams that should be paid so that people wouldn’t suffer because of Formula 1. »
While a boycott by some teams – Lotus, Force India and Sauber – might have been mentioned on Saturday evening, Ecclestone claims it’s not on the agenda: « Forget that nonsense. I promise you they will race. They will race, I can guarantee you that: but I worry about whether they can race next year. »
