Bernie Ecclestone has a plan to fix F1

Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone has a plan to fix F1

Would you want to see Bernie return?

Matthew Scott

Thursday 27 June 2019 14:33 Updated: 16:46

Bernie Ecclestone says the introduction of a third world championship could serve as the solution to fix the many issues that have left Formula 1 fans lamenting the modern-day offering. With processional races on the up, and the podium places dominated by three teams, many fans have been turned off by modern F1.

Mercedes have won the drivers' and constructors' championship each year since the dawning of the V6 Hybrid engine era.

Red Bull have even found themselves marginalised in the 'big three' this year, with Max Verstappen taking two podiums from eight races in 2019 -each one has been won by Mercedes.

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Telling ESPN how he would fix the current issues, Ecclestone said: "Firstly, I wouldn't be talking to the teams. It's like having a committee and you don't need that when making decisions like this.

"I would be saying: We're going to have two championships. They're both world championships; one is the Constructors' World Championship and the other is the Teams' World Championship. The Drivers' World Championship would not be affected in any way."

Ecclestone's Constructors' championship would be occupied by the engine manufacturers – currently in F1, Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault would comprise this standing.

The Teams' championship put forward by Ecclestone would run with "a car -- like a very sophisticated F2 car" and with one engine – identical across the teams – to run for the entire season, barring failures.

Ecclestone says these teams should also be allowed to refuel during races, while the constructors' cars could be weighted in order to level the playing field.

The former F1 chief says his idea harks back to the series' days of customer teams, highlighting Stirling Moss' successes against the manufacturing might of Ferrari during his career.

He concluded: "F1 has to get people's attention again. If you've got four friends going to a race, you want to have a situation where none of them can agree on who is going to win.

"This is all about Ferrari and Mercedes racing up front, but other teams having a chance to be in among them for about a fifth of the budget."