British business magnate Bernie Ecclestone has once again backed calls for performance to be equalised in Formula One. The former chief executive of the Formula One Group thinks the Mercedes-dominated ‘power unit’ era has been bad for the sport and when asked if he thinks that new owners Liberty Media have done a good job for the future of Formula One so far, he told Welt newspaper: “All I know is that Liberty Media now has the same contracts that I did. Not much has changed in the technical and sporting regulations. But that’s surprising because the biggest problem is that we urgently need exciting races. I am a big fan of Mercedes and I have great respect for their performance, but they win too much. If they had sold or rented their engine to a top team like Red Bull, we would have better and more exciting races and maybe other world champions. We would not have had this total dominance, which in my opinion would have better for Mercedes as well.” – Bernie Ecclestone added, as reported by Welt newspaper.
Asked what Liberty Media should do, the man who transformed Formula 1 into the spectacle we know and love appeared to back recent calls for engine equalisation or perhaps a banning of Mercedes’ so-called ‘party mode’. “They should, or they must, achieve a certain equality of opportunity among the teams as far as the engines are concerned,” he explained. “The manufacturers must understand that it’s necessary to make the sport more attractive. The public must not know who wins even before the race just because one or two engines are so much better.” – Bernie Ecclestone concluded.
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