Sauber and Force India were believed to be considering withdrawing from the race by pitting their cars at the end of first lap on Sunday; "I know what's wrong but don't know how to fix it," concedes Ecclestone
Monday 3 November 2014 18:14, UK
Bernie Ecclestone has quelled fears Force India and Sauber will withdraw from the United States GP in public protest against the governance of Formula 1 - but admitted he doesn't know how to fix the financial crisis which has enveloped the sport.
It emerged ahead of qualifying that both teams were contemplating pitting their cars at the conclusion of the first lap on Sunday in an act of rebellion against the sport’s inequality.
However, those fears subsided on Saturday night following a series of meetings in the paddock between Ecclestone, F1's commercial supremo, and the team bosses from Force India and Sauber, along with the grid's larger outfits.
"I promise they will be racing. I give you a guarantee – but I worry if they will be racing next year," Ecclestone told reporters during a press briefing.
In a remarkable admission, the F1 supremo then conceded: "We have to decide the best way to sort this whole thing out. Frankly, I know what's wrong but don't know how to fix it.
"I think the situation is such that if enough people want it resolved we can resolve it. It's a case of the people that are involved in the sport will have to want to look after the sport and be prepared to make some sacrifices.
"The problem is there is too much money probably being distributed badly - probably my fault."
Ecclestone's remark expressing longer-term fears over the struggling teams' futures echoes his comments to Sky Sports F1 on Friday, when he warned that just 14 cars could take to the grid next season.
The field is already down to just 18 cars in Austin after both Caterham and Marussia went into administration and the divide between the haves and the have-nots was made starkly apparent in a heated hour-long team bosses’ press conference on Thursday when the Team Principals of Lotus, Sauber and Force India lined up to turn their ire on Toto Wolff of Mercedes and McLaren chief Eric Boullier.
In an escalation of the simmering discontent at the back of the grid ahead of qualifying, Force India's Bob Fernley argued that it was wrong that F1's agenda and priorities were being set by a select group of leading teams.
"This is a programme run by the commercial rights holder and the five empowered and enriched teams which are governing Formula 1,” Fernley told Sky F1. “Force India and other teams have no say and absolutely no knowledge of what is going on - and that is the problem.
"We don't want to see Formula 1 damaged but we also have to remember the damage done to those teams - and that is an important consideration.
"The most important thing is to draw attention to the commercial rights holder, and the five [major] teams, that we have lost two teams and that is through poor management and it was unnecessary. It now threatens the integrity of F1."
Ecclestone's claim that only 14 cars may be on the F1 grid next season, which would represent a dramatic regression from the 22 which started this year, has prompted renewed speculation that the sport may soon become a three-car series.
"We are taking the stance that we are because we don't know, nobody has communicated with us, and it's very frustrating," added an angry Fernley.
