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Toto Wolff says he misses F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's ability to get things done. The Mercedes boss says Liberty Media has been in a "honeymoon period" since succeeding the Ecclestone era, but many are now predicting a fiery showdown with top teams including Ferrari.
One criticism from Wolff is that while the Ecclestone era was contentious, he would regularly pull off lucrative deals. "Bernie invented this sport so to speak, and he had strong qualities to increase sales," he told DPA news agency. "If I picked one point, it would be the ability to complete deals that he had."
On the other hand, Wolff pointed out that Liberty has made many plans and ideas public, but the real test will be putting them into action. "We've heard many interesting things," he said. "But the difficulty is not having good ideas, but actually implementing them."
For instance, Liberty has unveiled plans for new engine rules and a budget cap, but Ferrari is already threatening to quit. "Right now, many in formula one are moving in different directions," former F1 driver Gerhard Berger told Auto Motor und Sport.
"You have Mercedes and Ferrari on one side, Ross Brawn and the Americans on the other, and the FIA in the middle," he explained. "In the good old days there was unity between Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, so it was hard for the teams to have an influence. So at the moment there is the danger of great political disruptions," said Wolff. (GMM)
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Replies (3)
Login to replyMajor Tom
Posts: 152
When you understand how Bernie favored the top teams (at least financially) it's hardly surprising that they are threatening to throw their toys out of the pram. Bernie might have been able to get things done but, latterly at least, they were the wrong things and he accepted the unsustainable and sport-damaging status quo far to readily. Power to Liberty who at least seem to be trying to address the ills of the sport. About time!
Pauli
Posts: 140
I think that financial bias is way too strongly claimed when actually financial distribution is pretty comparable to La Liga teams. Of course La Liga is much more unequal than many other top football leagues. But still it shows that in any sport top teams are given much more revenues than weaker teams.
krommenaas
Posts: 155
Ecclestone made a mockery of the sport by favouring the top teams and Ferrari in particular. If Liberty have to break some eggs to make it a real sport again, so be it.