F1 ‘not putting on a very good show’ - Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone says Formula 1 is “not putting on a very good show” at present, but wants to give the new elimination qualifying format another chance.

F1’s governance has come under scrutiny following the move to elimination-style qualifying which produced an almost universally negative reaction in Australia. The Grand Prix Drivers Association voiced its concerns over the sport’s future last week and Ecclestone says fans are not getting value from F1 at present.

"We are not putting on a very good show,” Ecclestone told the BBC. "Imagine if people turned up to watch the Rolling Stones and Mick (Jagger) couldn't sing and the others couldn't play their instruments.”

However, Ecclestone wants the new qualifying format to be given a second chance as he wants to find a way of mixing up grids.

“I mean I got criticised as you may or may not know, by saying that I wouldn’t buy a ticket to watch a race, and the reason I said that is because if I want to go and see any particular sport I don’t want to know the result before I go,” he told Sky Sports. “I think it was a fair chance last year that you knew Lewis [Hamilton] was going to be on pole and win the race.

“Let’s muddle up the grid so that when… The idea was that hopefully Lewis and one or two of the hot shoes would be starting further down. Lewis helped us in Melbourne because on the first lap he came through in seventh, it made a good race.”

Asked why qualifying was not changed back to its previous format, Ecclestone replied: “Because we thought firstly you need a unanimous agreement of all the competitors in the championship which we never got and secondly we thought let’s give it a try and see; maybe we were a little bit unlucky with what we thought was going to happen.”

REPORT: Rosberg heads Hamilton and Button in FP2

AS IT HAPPENED: Bahrain Grand Prix FP2

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Alonso pushed through agonizing pain to complete Sao Paulo GP

Fernando Alonso braved both physical agony and mechanical challenges in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix,…

18 mins ago

Alpine double-podium in Brazil could deliver $30 million windfall

Alpine’s remarkable double podium at the São Paulo Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Pierre…

15 hours ago

F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2024 São Paulo GP

Alexander Albon, Williams (Did Not Start): 5.5/10 Alex Albon is definitely going through something of…

16 hours ago

Jos Verstappen rips British media after Brazilian Max fest

Jos Verstappen wasted no time after his son spectacular win at the São Paulo Grand…

18 hours ago

Leclerc left with ‘mixed feelings’ after disappointing Sao Paulo GP

Charles Leclerc's weekend in Sao Paulo was unfortunately a stark contrast to Ferrari's recent triumphs…

19 hours ago

Back when Kimi knew exactly what he was doing

Twelve years ago on this day, Kimi Raikkonen took a popular win at the 2012…

21 hours ago