Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone (left) waves as he arrives at Bahrain International Circuit.

Reuters/Manama

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who has been critical of the sport’s V6 turbo hybrid power units since their debut last year, said yesterday he would be happy to keep them if they became more powerful for less money.
Engine manufacturers held talks in the Bahrain Grand Prix paddock on Friday about plans to introduce 1,000 horsepower V6 units from 2017, which would make cars louder and more of a handful.
Asked whether he would be happy to continue with the V6, or still wanted to go back to the old V8s, Ecclestone told reporters: “If it’s going to be the current engine, upgraded to 1,000hp, good. And they need to supply them at a price that the teams can afford to pay.
“We need to make the cars more difficult to drive,” added the 84-year-old.
Formula One currently has four engine makers—Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari and Honda—and Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff said they all wanted to retain the hybrid element.
“The discussion about a 1,000 hp engine has been around quite a while and I appreciate very well that it needs to be a spectacular formula and if that’s the way forward then we should continue to work on it,” he told reporters on Saturday.
“There are various groups coming together in terms of how the 2017 rules can look like and in terms of power unit and the chassis side.
“Yesterday there was a very valuable meeting, (FIA race director) Charlie (Whiting) was there and Bernie was there. Concepts are being put in place to make it a spectacular new formula in 2017.”
Wolff said one way to boost horsepower, and noise, would be to increase the fuel flow rate but that would also bring additional costs.
“We are pretty easy on the fuel flow,” he said of the Mercedes stance. “But clearly increasing the fuel flow means redesigning crucial and major bits and pieces of the engine. So we need to know earlier than later.”

Azerbaijan GETS the all-clear
Formula One has no qualms about holding a grand prix in Azerbaijan next year despite concerns raised by rights activists, the sport’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said yesterday.
“Baku? No problem. That’s going to be another good race,” the 84-year-old told reporters at the Bahrain Grand Prix, another controversial fixture that follows on from China in a crowded calendar.
This year is the 11th Bahrain Grand Prix, with the 2011 race cancelled after an uprising by the Shia Muslim majority to demand reforms in the strategic Gulf kingdom triggered a subsequent crackdown.
Formula One, heavily criticised by campaigners over the years, this week quietly published a statement of respect for human rights in which it agreed to carry out due diligence on future hosts.
Asked whether he would now “check out the human rights record in Baku”, Ecclestone responded: “We have. I think everybody seems to be happy. Doesn’t seem to be any big problem there.”
Azerbaijan, governed by President Ilham Aliyev since he succeeded his father in 2003, has been courted by the West as an alternative to Russia in supplying oil and gas to Europe.
Rights groups accuse the government of muzzling dissent and jailing opponents, charges it denies.
Formula One signed a contract with Azerbaijan last year for a 2016 Grand Prix of Europe around the streets of Baku.
Azerbaijan is also due to host the inaugural European Games this year after failed bids for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
While Baku stands to become the latest addition to the calendar, after Russia last year and the return of Mexico this season, the future of some of the sport’s most historic venues remains in doubt.
Germany has been removed from this year’s calendar due to financial reasons, but is due to return next year, while Monza’s contract to host the Italian Grand Prix expires in 2016.
“We have to wait and see. They don’t have an agreement. Bit like Germany really,” said Ecclestone when asked about the situation in Italy.
The prospect of Monza, a temple of Italian motorsport since the 1920s, dropping off the calendar would be unthinkable for most F1 fans but Ecclestone gave no indication that he was prepared to soften his stance.
“I tell you something. I was told that when we didn’t have a race in France actually. And Germany now,” he said. “We’ve got some good replacements, haven’t we?”