Ecclestone impossible to replace with one man - Montezemolo

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo believes it would be a mistake if F1 attempted to try and replace Bernie Ecclestone with one person.

Ecclestone is now 85 and has faced criticism for his comments and running of F1 in the past, but continues to bring in major commercial deals while the current calendar stands at a record 21 races. Montezemolo says Ecclestone's age makes it necessary to consider a successor but believes the whole structure of the sport needs to change.

"Sooner or later, F1 has to think how to replace Bernie," Montezemolo told CNN's The Circuit. "Bernie is a fantastic person. It will be impossible and a mistake to find one man to replace him -- it's important to think of a new governance."

And Montezemolo believes the structure should be similar to those stakeholders who currently have a say but with no crossover between each of them.

"For F1 it is better to have three different but clear owners. One is the FIA, which is mainly in charge of rules and political power like a football federation, then the teams, who are the players, and then a commercial owner to promote the sport and increase its clients. To overlap is a big mistake.

"You need a small group of people, very strong in each department with someone in charge who knows F1, who has a feeling of what the market needs, of what the tifosi, the fans need."

And when asked whether he is the right man to make F1 successful in the future, Montezemolo replied: "I would be the best in the world to do this, but maybe it's time for someone else."

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