Bernie Ecclestone feels ‘it wasn’t this bad when Ferrari or Red Bull were on top’. Bernie Ecclestone on the Mercedes dominance.

Bernie Ecclestone, the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, feels the sport must do something to bring a halt to Mercedes’ dominance, saying it wasn’t this bad when Ferrari or Red Bull were on top.

Racing for an eighth successive championship double this season, Mercedes is on a record-breaking run, one that could also see Lewis Hamilton set a new record for the most Drivers’ Championship titles.

But while that is a story in itself, it doesn’t always play out well on track. Last season the Brit took 11 of the 17 grands prix wins with his team-mate Valtteri Bottas claiming two. That’s been the picture since 2014 with Mercedes taking more than half of each season’s victories. Their dominance is not only a headache for Mercedes’ rivals but also the sport’s bosses who concede they need to up the entertainment factor.

One idea on the cards for this season is sprint races with Silverstone confirmed to be hosting one. Italy, Canada and Brazil could add their names to the list.

Speaking to Sport1, the former F1 supremo declared: “We need to think much more about what we need to do in Formula 1: namely, bring the entertainment factor forward. It’s also more interesting to develop things on the engineering side. It probably changes about 50 per cent of the audience. But we should concentrate on the 85 per cent who just want entertainment. The only people who can help us with that at the moment are at Mercedes. I have spoken to Toto, he knows my thoughts and feelings. I hope I’m not saying anything bad about Mercedes there. They have done a fantastic job for Formula 1. But I would like to see us go back to the old days. When Ferrari or Red Bull dominated, it wasn’t so bad. Now when you go to a race, you know that the person on pole is probably going to win the race. That’s the bad thing at the moment. Mercedes is so dominant. That’s not their fault. They have done an incredible job. But I think regulations will be changed. You can’t change the core of Formula One, but you have to make it easier for the others to be competitive.” – he concluded.