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Mercedes didn't help Ferrari enough - Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone says part of Ferrari's struggles in 2016 are because Mercedes helped the Scuderia improve "but obviously not enough".

Ferrari was uncompetitive in 2014 with the introduction of new power unit regulations, failing to win a race as it finished fourth in the constructors' championship behind Mercedes, Red Bull and Williams. However, it improved considerably in 2015, leading Ecclestone to claim Mercedes had helped Ferrari close the gap.

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Speaking during an interview alongside Toto Wolff for the official F1 website, Ecclestone again raised his belief the two had worked together, which was denied by the Mercedes boss.

"Mercedes helped them, but obviously not enough!" Ecclestone said when asked why Ferrari is not getting it right this season.

"Bernie always says that we’ve helped them - but not enough!" Wolff replied. "Of course we didn’t. In the end your success is all about people, isn’t it Bernie? With the right people you get it right."

"You really think so?" Ecclestone responded. "Everything in this business is about rumours. Toto says that Mercedes didn’t help Ferrari, so they didn’t give any help - obviously. Because he is saying the truth.

"What I am saying is what I have heard. And it’s good that they helped them. I’d say they should have helped them a little more!"

While Mercedes is closing on a third consecutive championship double, Ferrari has failed to replicate its form from 2015 when it secured three victories, currently sitting third in the constructors' championship with no wins to its name this year.

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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.