Ecclestone sees bright F1 future despite global crisis

Feb 5, 2009, 14:47 GMT

London - Cost-cutting is a necessity in these harsh economic times but the sport of Formula One is not endangered by the global crisis with many countries seeking to host races, its commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone says.

Ecclestone confirmed in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that India will stage its first Grand Prix in 2011 and that races in South Korea and Russia were also in the planning.

But he also said that reducing costs would have been mandatory if the situation was not so grim.

'The teams were growing so big and did spend so much money. It got a little bit out of hand. Even if we had not had this economic crisis, if this is the right word, they needed to get back.

'We need to reduce the necessity to spend money to be competitive. It should not be a race that the team with the most of the money wins,' Ecclestone told dpa.

The ruling body FIA and the team union FOTA have agreed to save 30 per cent or around 1 billion dollars in the upcoming 2009 season, and to save 50 per cent in 2010 through various rule changes.

The Honda team has quit F1 citing the recession and German organizers of the Hockenheim race are in a dire financial situation as well.

Ecclestone said he hoped an investment by him into Hockenheim a few years ago was not lost and suggested that the troubled organizers should get the financial support from the state that they seek.

'The trouble is that today we are fortunate enough to have a lot of different sports which are supported by the governments. You can imagine what the Olympic Games (in London 2012) are going to cost,' said Ecclestone.

'A small amount is necessary to maintain Formula 1. It's very cheap for a country to maintain one of the top sports.'

Ecclestone dismissed criticism that the hosting fee ranging from 5 to 45 million euros was too high, pointing out that many organizers were lining up to stage races.

'I don't understand that, because we have more people who want races, than we can have races. There are a lot of new markets. The world has moved on since it used to be more or less a European Championship with one race outside in America.'

The India race in 2011 will take place and Ecclestone said 'sure' when asked whether South Korea was still on the agenda.

Ecclestone said he was 'surprised' that Honda left and suggested that they 'used the whole crisis as an excuse' after poor results in the 2008 season.

But he was upbeat that a buyer can be found for the team in time for the season that starts on March 29 with the Australian Grand Prix.

'I think so. I think that will happen,' said Ecclestone.