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Jean Todt has urged Bernie Ecclestone to stop criticising formula one. F1 supremo Ecclestone has rung in another new season with a familiar round of criticism, after last year crudely describing the sport he runs as "crap".
Todt, the FIA president, told Auto Bild Motorsport: "Can you imagine someone going to see a new movie if the director said 'My film is sh...'? If you want to sell a product, criticism must be internal, not external. We have to represent a positive image of formula one again," said the Frenchman.
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So unlike Ecclestone, Todt hails F1's controversial yet cutting-edge 'power units'. "We have to get them cheaper and louder," he admits. "And it cannot be that a team has difficulty getting one. Apart from that, the hybrid engine is one of the best things formula one has done."
Indeed, he hopes the direction in which F1 is heading will attract more car manufacturers to the grid, like Audi. "An entry of Audi would be fantastic for the sport," Todt declared. "Their technology is advanced and they would be determined from the outset to be competitive. But they are also part of a large group that has to resolve other problems now," he said. "But I am sure that, if we make the world championship more attractive, as good businesspeople they cannot ignore formula one," added Todt.
Ecclestone, meanwhile, has also been critical of Todt himself, accusing him of focusing too much on the 'mobility' side of the FIA and neglecting F1. "The FIA has two pillars," Todt insisted, "motor sport and mobility. One of my priorities is of course traffic safety: each year 1.3 million people die on the road -- 500 children every day. Formula one is a luxury problem. It would be entirely out of place if the president of the FIA is concerned about the details of F1. But I do have good support people," he added. (GMM)
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Posts: 893
It's about time someone stepped up to try and stop Bernie from running F1 completely into the ground. There is no denying that he is committing commercial suicide. How can you say such bad things about the one thing you should be promoting...
I had a really good think and for me essentially there is nothing wrong with F1 today except it's poor management. One example is the recent qualifying farce.
At this point in time, the hybrid formula is pretty good but if they want to attract more manufacturers they need to make sure there is a guarantee the PU rules will not change drastically in the near future.
Some things need improvement like the sound, and more equal and affordable PU's but if they give it some time I'm sure these things will happen.
I would love to hear the sound again of the old V8's and V10's or even better V12's but that is going backwards, not forwards.
One thing I don't understand is the fuel flow limitation. Why not simply put a limit on the amount of fuel that can be used during a race but let the teams completely free to decide how much they want to use at what time? This is a stupid rule atm and has no purpose to limit the amount of fuel that can be used during the race.