Ecclestone has to take responsibility - Marchionne

Sergio Marchionne pulled no punches when asked about an apparent 'war' with Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA. Recently, the F1 supremo as well as Jean Todt questioned Ferrari's historic 'veto'. And the latest exchange is that the Marchionne-led Ferrari is now challenging a "mandate" given to the FIA president and Ecclestone to fix aspects of the sport.

"Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone have no right to put our right of veto up for discussion," Marchionne, the Ferrari president, insisted. The main issue at stake is 'power units', with the authorities concerned that carmakers like Ferrari and Mercedes wield too much power at the moment. But Marchionne said: "They wanted these power units. It was (Max) Mosley's idea and he was right -- the future of the auto industry is hybrid."

Having rejected the 'parallel' rules proposal, the manufacturers have now been tasked with coming up with a new, cheaper and more competitive engine formula. But Marchionne said: "It is simply not true that this is not possible with the current engines. We need to find compromises. If formula one becomes a kind of single seater version of Nascar, then Ferrari is not interested. At the same time, I do not think there is anyone at all who wants us to leave grand prix racing," he added.

"I understand the problem of the smaller teams, but this is a problem that FOM has to bear, not Ferrari. Ecclestone will have to take the responsibility to make an engine equivalent to ours available to other teams. It is an investment that I think he should do in the interest of the sport," said Marchionne. (GMM)

I actually dont know that. Electrics are incredibly inefficient, and the batteries are expensive, not nice for the enviroment and are not very longlasting (they need to be replaced about every 5th year). You get better efficiency and energy consumption from a normal car, but the problem is that t... [Read more]

  • 1
  • Dec 16 2015 - 09:20

Replies (6)

Login to reply
  • Time for some long term planning with all parties involved gentlemen!

    • + 0
    • Dec 15 2015 - 10:09
  • f1dave

    Posts: 782

    No team in any sport should be allowed to dictate what the rules should be.

    • + 0
    • Dec 15 2015 - 16:26
    • Pompey

      Posts: 84

      That would be like Vampires being in charge of blood donors.

      • + 0
      • Dec 15 2015 - 17:08
    • Dictate no, but they should be heard.

      • + 0
      • Dec 15 2015 - 18:27
  • khasmir

    Posts: 893

    It's clear some big changes will need to be made to save F1 for the long term. But not sure Bernie and Todt can come up with the right answers.

    And tbh, the real long term future is not hybrid but fully electric ;)

    • + 0
    • Dec 15 2015 - 18:03
    • I actually dont know that. Electrics are incredibly inefficient, and the batteries are expensive, not nice for the enviroment and are not very longlasting (they need to be replaced about every 5th year). You get better efficiency and energy consumption from a normal car, but the problem is that they today use regular petrol. If Audi is fully truthfull, they've managed to make synthetic petrol in a factory, and this could mean that we'd not use up our oil as fast or even at all. The obvious choice then is to continue using hybrids or normal cars.

      • + 1
      • Dec 16 2015 - 09:20

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
14 - Mar 16 2025
Australia
21 - Mar 23 2025
China
4 - Apr 6 2025
Japan
11 - Apr 13 2025
Bahrain
18 - Apr 20 2025
Saudi Arabia
2 - May 4 2025
United States of America
16 - May 18 2025
Italy
23 - May 25 2025
Monaco
30 - Jun 1 2025
Spain
13 - Jun 15 2025
Canada
27 - Jun 29 2025
Austria
4 - Jul 6 2025
United Kingdom
25 - Jul 27 2025
Belgium
1 - Aug 3 2025
Hungary
29 - Aug 31 2025
Netherlands
5 - Sep 7 2025
Italy
19 - Sep 21 2025
Azerbaijan
3 - Oct 5 2025
Singapore
17 - Oct 19 2025
United States of America
24 - Oct 26 2025
Mexico
7 - Nov 9 2025
Brazil
21 - Nov 23 2025
United States of America
28 - Nov 30 2025
Qatar
5 - Dec 7 2025
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
14 - Mar 16 2025
Australia Albert Park
21 - Mar 23 2025
4 - Apr 6 2025
11 - Apr 13 2025
18 - Apr 20 2025
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
2 - May 4 2025
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
16 - May 18 2025
23 - May 25 2025
Monaco Monte Carlo
30 - Jun 1 2025
13 - Jun 15 2025
27 - Jun 29 2025
Austria Red Bull Ring
4 - Jul 6 2025
United Kingdom Silverstone
25 - Jul 27 2025
1 - Aug 3 2025
Hungary Hungaroring
29 - Aug 31 2025
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
5 - Sep 7 2025
Italy Monza
19 - Sep 21 2025
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
3 - Oct 5 2025
17 - Oct 19 2025
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
24 - Oct 26 2025
7 - Nov 9 2025
Brazil Interlagos
21 - Nov 23 2025
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
28 - Nov 30 2025
5 - Dec 7 2025
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar