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Formula One should change its engine rules soon, and could welcome two new teams next year, its commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone said yesterday. |
While praising the new V6 turbo engines in principle, Ecclestone said that the races in their current form are “not acceptable for fans,” calling for more noise and fuel.
“They can do something about the noise, and they need another 10 kilos of fuel or something,” Ecclestone told reporters ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix yesterday.
The new rules have sparked a major debate, with world champions Red Bull and influential Ferrari seeking to end fuel restrictions of 100kg per car.
But Mercedes, who have won the first two season races and occupy the first row on the grid in Bahrain, will have none of it.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff insisted that any rule changes would be “absurd” and Ecclestone also conceded that “without any doubt they (Mercedes) have done a better job and they shouldn’t be punished for that”.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council meets Friday, and could give the green light for possible changes.
Also high on the F1 agenda is cost-cutting, with only a handful of teams not in financial problems. FIA president Jean Todt was quoted in Germany’s auto, motor und sport magazine as aiming for a budget cap of 150 million euros (205 million dollars) per team each season.
With several of the current 11 teams struggling, it can also not be ruled out that two new teams seemingly set to debut in 2015 may eventually be replacing others and not bringing the line-up to the maximum permitted 13 outfits.
Ecclestone said that one team was around American Gene Haas, the founder of the Stewart-Haas NASCAR team. The other is believed to be backed by Colin Kolles, formerly at now-defunct Hispania (HRT).
“They will be accepted,” Ecclestone said, referring to the Haas team. “We have also accepted another team as well, although whether they’ll make it or not is another story.”
