Filed under: Motorsports, Etc.
There are ways to make friends, and ways to make enemies. Telling several members of your party they’re unwelcome is a sure way to the latter, but then, Bernie Ecclestone has never shied away from controversy. In his latest statement, the Formula One chief has indicated that the field should be cut down from its current grid of 13 teams to just 10.
The number of teams grew in recent years to adopt Virgin, Hispania and Lotus, but the former two in particular have struggled to keep the pace with the competition. Ecclestone also reportedly feels that there isn’t enough sponsor cash to go around, as evidenced by the lack of corporate logos on HRT’s new car. The outspoken racing chief, however, appears to support Lotus, which he apparently feels has a stronger chance of overcoming its teething pains and catching up to the rest of the grid.
In related news, Ecclestone is reportedly cooperating with German authorities who are investigating alleged corruption in the sale of F1’s commercial rights five years ago to CVC Capital Partners, whom Ecclestone represents. Authorities are looking into the personal finances of German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky who at the time chaired the series’ previous commercial rights holder, and was discovered to have received a mysterious $50 million payment into an offshore account.
[Source: ESPN | Image: Clive Mason/Getty]
ESPN: Bernie Ecclestone lashes out at the newbies, calls for cutting the grid back to 10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
